Maximum Entropy
by Aireon Maris
Summary: Buffy Summers: Slayer, student, mother. Buffy's carefully balanced life comes crashing down. Who's going to be there to pick up the pieces?
1. Prologue

Maximum Entropy

Buffy Summers: Slayer, student, mother.

Thanks for choosing to read "Maximum Entropy." If you have not read my story "Sunshine and Shadows," please go read it first. This story will make a lot more sense if you do.

Disclaimer: I am borrowing all recognizable characters. I just didn't tell Joss Wheedon or Mutant Enemy. Please don't stake me.

Flames will be used for vengeance spells.

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Buffy Summers knew every graveyard in Sunnydale by heart. It was one of the sadder results of spending most of her nights hunting and killing vampires. She rarely, however, visited them during the day, and she was having trouble holding back the tears.

Her fiancé, Angel, stood beside her, carrying their two-month-old daughter in his arms. With a somber expression, he laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I wish…" he began, and then grimaced. "I would have liked us to have gotten along better," he said softly. "I know he loved you, too."

Buffy nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She knelt and laid the bouquet of roses in front of the tombstone and traced a finger along the carved name.

ALEXANDER LEVILLE HARRIS

1981-2000

HE LIVED. HE LOVED. HE LAUGHED.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, tears trickling down her face. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you." She kissed her fingertips and pressed them to the cool stone. "Thank you for being there." Then she got to her feet, took Angel's outstretched hand, and began the walk home.


	2. Chapter 1

It was family night at the Summers' residence, and the second-youngest member of the family sat on the back porch, gazing morosely up at the stars. If Buffy—or, God forbid, Angel—knew she was out here alone, she'd get an earful. Which was a total load of baloney, since she was mere feet from the back door. She snorted, able to quote the many lectures by heart. It was dangerous in Sunnydale blah blah vampires blah biddy blah.

As if in response to her thoughts, a faint movement on the edge of the circle of light made Dawn jump. "Who's there?" she called hesitantly. A familiar, black leather-clad figure stepped out of the darkness. "Oh. Hi, Spike. What are you doing here?"

"'Lo bit," the platinum-haired vampire greeted. "Short cut," he nodded toward the other side of the yard. Then he tilted his head. "What're you doing sittin' there all lonesome like for? Sounds like a right ol' party goin' on in the house."

"Family night," Dawn explained. "Mom's all goo-goo over Caddie and Angel and Buffy are making mushy eyes at each other. I figured it be safer out here."

Spike snorted and sat next to her. "Have to agree with you, there." Dawn scooted over to make room for him. He smelled of leather and cigarette smoke. "How's school been?" he asked.

Dawn sighed theatrically. "Awful. No one sits next to me at lunch. Not since the Akasa demon incident. People look at me funny and point and whisper that I'm related to _her_."

Spike made a sympathetic noise. After the aforementioned incident (which involved a child-snatching demon, Buffy, and the middle school gym), Spike had found Dawn outside the Bronze, crying because no one would talk to her. At that moment, a strange friendship blossomed, one that promised to either end in tears or flower into a strong, lasting relationship.

"It won't last long, pet," Spike assured her. "They'll come around. You just got to let that pretty smile and charming personality win them over."

She looked up at him hopefully. "You really think so?" she asked.

"Worked for me," he joked. Truth be told, he wasn't a normal vampire. With the chip in his brain preventing him from hurting humans, he had been forced into a kind of truce with the Slayer and her gang, but it was a rather uneasy one, probably due to the fact that Spike was personally responsible for the capture and torture of at least half of them.

"How'd you do on that English exam?"

Dawn brightened immediately. "I totally got an A. Mom was so thrilled. She even took me out for ice cream."

"See? So today wasn't so bad, eh?"

She shrugged. "I guess not. Are going to patrol? Can I come with you?"

"Yes, and most emphatically no." Spike chucked Dawn under the chin. "Your sister and Peaches would tear me apart if they found out I took you patrolling. Besides, you've got to eat dinner and finish your homework." He got to his feet to leave, but Dawn grabbed the edge of his coat.

"I'll be at the Bronze tomorrow night," she said. "You could come, if you wanted to." She blushed and looked down. "That sounded too date-y. What I meant was, I need some help on my history assignment. Could you meet me there and help me out?"

"I'll be there, pet," Spike promised, flashing her a quick smile. "Now I'm off before your sister catches me hanging around."

As soon as he melted into the shadows, the back door swung open and Joyce stuck her head out. "Dawn? What are you doing out there? Dinner's ready. Come in and eat."

"Coming, Mom," Dawn said, sighing faintly. She wished Spike could come around more often. At least he actually paid attention to her.

*****

Giles' eyebrows shot toward his hairline when Angel reported in for work the next morning. "What?" Angel demanded defensively. "Joyce had to be at the gallery and Cordelia's sick."

"I didn't say a word," Giles replied mildly, unable to keep his lips from twitching. The tall, muscular, and darkly handsome Angel was wearing a baby sling strapped across his chest. Inside the sling, Cadence Alexandra Summers burbled happily to herself, occasionally reaching up to play with the buttons of her father's shirt.

Doyle, however, wasn't nearly as tactful as Giles. First he burst out laughing, and then he cooed and fawned over the infant as he always did.

"Is Cadence going to be a distraction to you two?" Giles asked his employees rather pointedly. The half-demon and the ex-vampire both shook their heads somewhat sheepishly, and returned to their work.

Doyle ran the register for the Magic Box as well as handled the finances. He was quite good at "crunching numbers" as he called it, and so did well. Angel, lacking Doyle's people skills, restocked, catalogued merchandise, and kept an eye on sales to make sure no one bought the ingredients for any nasty spells. It was a rather good job for them both, as they could drop what they were doing for demon hunting without getting in trouble with their boss.

Over the course of the morning, several women stopped Angel so they could exclaim over the infant. While normally he'd resent the attention, Angel could help wanting to show off his daughter. _His_ daughter. The child he never thought he could have.

"Oh, poor wee thing," Doyle clucked when Caddie got fussy around noon. "Why don't we come to Uncle Doyle and give ol' Da a rest, eh?"

"Do you have to talk like that?" Angel asked with a wince as he handed his daughter to her godfather. "You sound…like a spinster aunt or something. It's creepy."

Doyle glared righteously at his best friend. "I can talk any which way I like, mate," he said emphatically. "Especially to the child the Powers That Be put under my protection."

Angel rolled his eyes but didn't argue. He felt mostly apprehensive about Doyle's reassignment. It meant that Caddie was going to be in some sort of danger. Doyle, seeing Angel's expression, grew serious.

"I don't know what Fate's got in store for Caddie," he said solemnly. "I just know I'm supposed to make sure she gets there."

Angel managed a tight smile and handed Doyle a bottle of formula. "Here. Make her happy."


	3. Chapter 2

Buffy winced at a sore muscle as she pushed to front door open. She and Angel had been spending more and more time at her old house ever since her mother started getting sick. She closed the door quietly and looked around. There was no one to be seen.

"Buffy? Is that you?" Angel appeared from the direction of the kitchen. He took one look at her and hurried to support her. "Damn it! I knew I should have gone with you. What happened?"

She let him help her sit down on the sofa. "Where's Mom and Dawn?" she asked apprehensively.

He crouched in front of her. "Your mother's asleep and Dawn's out with friends."

Buffy's eyes flew open in horror. "No! We have to go find her!"

"Buffy, I'm sure Dawn's safe," Angel soothed, examining the bruise forming around Buffy's throat. "She knows better than to go anywhere alone at night. Now tell me what happened."

Tears pooled in Buffy's eyes. "I had a really crappy day," she said. "The spell to see who's hurting Mom didn't work, I got my butt kicked by some tramp in stilettos, and Dawn's not my sister."

Angel stared at her. "Dawn's not your sister?" he asked, puzzled. "Buffy, what are you talking about?"

"All of my memories of her, Mom and Dad bringing her home from the hospital, her first day of school, God, even the time she first met you, it's all fake. None of it's real." Buffy dashed the tears away angrily. "She's the Key, Angel. Energy. Used to open portals to different dimensions and the bitch queen wants her."

"Slow down, beloved. You're not making any sense."

Buffy took a few deep breaths and looked directly into Angel's confused, brown eyes. "I went to investigate the warehouse where I found the shiny orb thingy. Found a monk tied to a chair and a woman with a major attitude. She wiped the floor with my face. I managed to get out with the monk and the building collapsed. The monk told me they had taken the Key, the energy, and gave it human form. Gave it to me. As Dawn." Buffy put her face in her hands. "I don't know what to do."

Angel sat back on his heels, completely stunned. "You're sure he told you the truth?" he asked after a minute.

Buffy looked up at him. "He was dying, Angel. Why would he lie?"

He reached out and took both of her hands. "I don't know. What I do know is that you need a hot bath and a good night's rest. We'll talk to Giles in the morning."

"She's trying to get Dawn," Buffy told him, her voice intense. "I'm not going to let her get Dawn."

"Of course not," Angel assured her. "While you get some sleep, I'll go to the Bronze and bring her home myself, okay?"

Buffy nodded, too tired to argue. "Okay." Angel kissed her forehead.

"We'll be back soon." He got up and grabbed his coat from where it hung by the door. Before he left, he paused. "Buffy, I love you," he called softly. She smiled tightly.

"Love you, too."

*****

If Dru saw him right now, she'd probably faint. Or laugh. Because William the Bloody, known as of late as Spike, was tutoring a fourteen-year-old in history. Spike could blame it on the sodding chip, but he had always tried to be honest with himself. The real reason was that he honestly, actually cared about Dawn. The poor thing was the Slayer's sister, for hell's sake. Always having to look at Buffy and know she'd never be that good, well, it pulled at the strings of Spike's unbeating heart.

Not to say he'd gone soft. He was still a big bad. Sure, he was violent towards demons now rather than humans, but that was hardly his fault.

"Urgh!" Dawn suddenly exclaimed, pushing her textbook away from her. "Why should I care what caused the Boxer Rebellion? It didn't even happen in America."

"I was there, you know," Spike said, flipping through the pages of the volume.

"At the Boxer Rebellion?" Dawn asked, looking more interested.

"Yeah," Spike said with a smirk. "Me, Dru, Angelus, and Darla. Big happy family."

"What was it like?" Dawn demanded. "Was it exciting?"

"Killed my first Slayer," Spike said proudly, and then realized that might not go over too well. "It was a long time ago," he said quickly. "Things change."

Dawn gave him a funny look. "Spike, I know that you killed two Slayers and all that. You even tried to hurt my mom on parent teacher night."

"Hey, I would never do anything to hurt your Mum," Spike said defensively. "Joyce is a nice lady. I like her."

"I know," Dawn insisted. "I know that you're different now. You're…nice. A nice vampire."

Spike clenched his fists. "There's no such thing as a nice vampire, bit," he said coldly. "Just those that don't bite." The thought of a vampire—or anything, for that matter—taking advantage of Dawn's trusting nature made him want to kill something. Slowly.

He took an unnecessary breath and forced himself to calm down. "There's bad things out there, pet," he said intensely. "And I'm one of them. Don't ever forget that."

"But you wouldn't hurt me," Dawn said, though she sounded a little unsure of herself. "Or Buffy, or the others. Would you?"

"I'm a vampire. Hurting is what I do. It's what I live for," Spike seethed. "Don't you get it? Buffy's the _Slayer_, Dawn. If it weren't for the bloody chip, I'd have no choice _but_ to try and hurt her."

Dawn cringed away from him, her eyes wide with fear and hurt. Spike shoved away from the table, torn between old instinct and new feelings. "Sodding hell," he spat, and whirled away, shoving through the crowd. What was he thinking, hanging around the Slayer's kid sister? He was nothing but a monster, frightening children. He fled into the night, still berating himself.

*****

Angel found Dawn a few minutes later, still looking shaken. "Dawn?" he asked, too preoccupied to notice. "Come on, we're going home."

She didn't demand to know why. She didn't ask what was wrong. Her thoughts were all a-whirl, trying to figure out why Spike had yelled at her, why he had said those things. Did he not like her anymore? Tears sprang to her eyes at the thought. If Spike didn't like her, then she didn't have any friends at all.

She gathered her books and numbly followed as Angel led her outside and to his convertible. Neither of them spoke on the drive home.


	4. Chapter 3

The training room in the back of the Magic Box was utterly quiet. Giles' glasses dangled from his hand as he stared off into space. Buffy sat on Angel's lap, enclosed in his arms. Her fiancé could make her feel safe, which was really what she needed right now.

"I don't know what to say," Giles stammered.

"Tell me about it," Buffy mumbled dryly.

"It's just difficult to wrap one's mind around…and she has no idea?"

Buffy straightened slightly, lifting her head from Angel's shoulder. "None. She thinks she's my kid sister."

"Are you going to tell her?"

Buffy frowned. "How can I? She'd freak out and that's the last thing we need. We have to keep her safe."

"This woman, this…whatever she was," Giles said, beginning to polish his glasses. "She knows you now. Should we be thinking about sending Dawn away?"

Angel cleared his throat and spoke for the first time. "And send her where?"

Giles shrugged and stammered a bit. "I don't know… Your father's?"

Buffy's face closed down. "He's off in…Spain or something, with his secretary. Living the cliché. I called when Mom got sick, he hasn't even… You know when he bailed on us, I remember Dawn cried for a week. Except she didn't. She was never there, but I can still feel what it was like." She shifted in Angel's arms and he pressed a kiss to her temple. "They sent her to me, Giles," she continued. "I think I have to take care of her. I want to."

Giles nodded solemnly. "Do we tell the others?"

Angel stirred again. "No. No one. It's safer for them if they don't know."

"Yes," Giles agreed. "We have to find out who exactly this woman is, and what it is she needs Dawn for. If she comes after you—"

"She'll come," Buffy said grimly. "She'll come for us."

*****

"So this is what you mean by research mode," Doyle said, looking suitably impressed at the sheer amount of books on the table. "I guess the party's about to begin, eh?"

"Not yet," Willow peeked out over the top of her book. "Oz has to get back from the donut run. Then the party starts."

"It would help if you could give us a better description of Miss Congeniality," Giles said, looking over at Buffy, who was balancing a book, a bottle, and her baby in her lap.

"Um…" Buffy replied, slightly distracted. "Angel, honey—book, please?"

With unerring accuracy, Angel caught the book just as it slipped from her lap and placed it with the others. "Major attitude," Buffy said, trying to convince Caddie to take the bottle. "Kind of reminded me of Cordelia, actually."

"Watch it, Slayer," Cordelia warned, pointing a forefinger towards the ceiling. The tip of her finger suddenly burst into flame and Cordy cocked an eyebrow threateningly. Buffy smiled wolfishly at the witch.

"She was strong. Like really, really strong. And I don't think that was her natural hair color."

Giles rolled his eyes. "Yes, because that's going to be so helpful."

"What is this?" Dawn piped up, holding a small statuette. "Can I have this?"

Giles' expression turned comically concerned. "No!" he shouted. "Put that down! The last thing we need is a bunch of snakes everywhere and underfoot."

"Eep!" Dawn hastily replaced the figurine and hurriedly backed away just as Oz pushed open the front door, carrying a bulging, pink box.

"The requisite sugar has arrived," he announced. Buffy felt her eyes go wide. Since she had last seen the werewolf, Oz had colored his hair flame red. She tilted her head. She was pretty sure she liked it better blue.

"Ah-ah!" Giles warned as Cordelia and Willow converged on the pastries. "The jellies are mine!"

"I have to admit, I like this place much better than Los Angeles," Doyle said happily, a book in one hand and a donut in the other. "I've got more friends here."

Buffy grinned at him and put Caddie on her shoulder to burp her. Joyce had had another headache, so Buffy had brought Caddie to the meeting. Being a mom made things much more complicated, but Buffy wouldn't change a thing. She sniffed and made a face. Well, except for Caddie's diaper.

"I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking for," Willow complained after about a half-hour. Oz looked up.

"I'm going to have to agree with the redhead," he said.

"I've been looking over the list of general baddies who can take human form," Doyle offered. "Unfortunately, it's pretty long. I haven't narrowed it down much."

Angel looked up, his dark eyes thoughtful. "Maybe because whatever she is, she isn't there."

Giles sent Angel a piercing look. "What do you mean?"

"Could whatever Buffy encountered predate the written word?" the ex-vampire asked quietly. "Be so old that there's no written account of it?"

Giles looked disturbed. "That's…quite a troubling possibility."

"Or…" Doyle began pensively, unconsciously crumbling the remains of his donut. "She could be from another dimension. She might not even belong here, in our world."

"These kinds of things give me headaches," Buffy said. She handed Caddie to Angel. "My turn for fattening sugar rings." She plucked a glazed one from the stack; it was a shame Giles had forbidden powdered sugar. He claimed it got in the pages of the books.

Everyone jumped a bit when the phone rang. Mumbling to himself, Giles got to his feet and went to answer. Buffy could have eavesdropped, but chose to ignore it in favor of kicking off her shoes and propping her feet against Angel's thigh, exchanging a look with her fiancé.

"You okay?" he mouthed.

"I'm fine," she said silently. Her eyes flicked to Dawn, who was chewing on the end of her pencil as she puzzled through her math homework.

Giles returned to the table, looking distracted and polishing his glasses. Everyone stopped and turned to stare expectantly at him.

"Uh…Giles?" Buffy asked. "What is it?"

"It's the Watcher's Council," he replied bleakly. "They're coming here."


	5. Chapter 4

It helped her think, to prowl through the silent graveyards, following the primitive instinct to hunt and destroy that had awoken in her the day she had become the Slayer. When she gave herself over to the primal, she became calm, more sure of her place in the world.

Unfortunately, tonight she was in too much of a snarl to find the inner serenity. "Why…oomph…are they coming _now_?" she demanded between punches. The vampire she was currently beating looked hard pressed and was pulling all of his best moves to try to keep up with the Slayer.

"I don't know," Angel replied, dodging a kick from his own opponent. He grabbed the vampire's ankle and knee, twisted, and flipped the vampire over onto his belly. Angel whipped out a stake and struck, but the vampire rolled out of the way in time.

"They couldn't wait until _after_ the whole thing with Dawn (hold still, fang boy!) was taken care of?" she asked plaintively.

Angel, tiring of his duel, launched himself at his vampire. He tackled the demon, rolled over a few times, and slipped the stake between the vampire's ribs, turning his face away as the creature exploded into dust.

"I highly doubt the Council has any considerations for our personal schedules, beloved," he told her as he tried to decide whether to help her or stay back. She wasn't pulling any punches, so he decided to watch and wait.

"I know what they're going to say," she said as she smashed her fist into the vampire's face. "Ow! Goddammit!" She whirled around and drove her stake unerringly into the vampire's chest. "That hurt!"

Angel was at her side in an instant. "What is it?"

She shook her hand, looking sulky. "It's nothing. I cut my hand on his fangs." Angel caught her hand and examined the shallow gashes.

"They don't look serious," he assured her, pulling a folded bandage out of one pocket to stop the bleeding. "What do you think the Council will say?"

"I don't follow the rules," she said, imitating a stuffy British accent with alarming accuracy. "I have too many personal ties. And, horrors! I have a family."

"Those are the reasons you're still alive," Angel reminded her. "Whatever the Council wants, Buffy, you're the Slayer. There's nothing they can do to change that. Try to keep that in mind." He kissed her forehead. "Besides, they might have some information about your mysterious adversary."

"I suppose," Buffy said reluctantly. She put her arms around Angel's waist and burried her face in his chest. "Why does life have to be so complicated?" she moaned. "I have to worry about Caddie and Dawn and Mom's getting sick and slaying and now there's another big bad and the Council and I don't think I can take much more of this!"

Angel rubbed her back, resting his cheek against the top of her head. "It's going to be all right, Buffy," he soothed. "Just take things one day at a time, all right?"

"Tell me things are going to get better," she said with a sigh. "That it'll get easier."

Angel was silent. "I can't lie to you," he said after a long moment. He glanced up at the moon and realized sunrise wasn't too far away. "Come on. We should get back."

As they moved away, neither noticed the figure clinging to the shadows of a mausoleum. As soon as the graveyard was empty, the firgure's face was lit up by a faint orange glow, revealing gaunt features and deep-set eyes. Spike took another drag on his cigarette and rolled it between his fingers. Dawn was in some sort of trouble, hm? He flicked the cigarette to the dirt and ground it out. Time to do some gossip gathering.

*****

Saturday morning. The Summers sisters were still in their pajamas, watching mindless cartoons as they lounged on the sofa. The remains of waffles were still in the kitchen sink. Caddie lay on a blanket on the floor, totally absorbed in the mobile above her.

Dawn had her head in Buffy's lap, her older sister absently stroking her hair. Dawn played with Buffy's other hand, turning the ring on her finger around. "Buffy?"

"Hm?"

"When are you and Angel getting married? I mean, he gave you the ring and everything."

Buffy blinked and looked down at the ring Dawn was currently fiddling with. It was a simple band, carved with an Irish claddaugh. Angel had given her a similar one on her seventeenth birthday, but it had been lost.

"I don't know," she replied thoughtfully. "I'd like it to be soon, but it doesn't seem to be the right time."

"Will the Watcher's Council be mad at you? Slayer's aren't supposed to get married, are they?"

"They also aren't supposed to last as long as I have," Buffy pointed out. "Personally, I don't give a rat's a—butt if they don't like me getting married or not. It's my decision."

"Good for you," Dawn said, proud of her sister. They didn't get much time together usually, but lately Buffy had wanted to keep Dawn close by. One on hand it was cool to hang out with her Slayer sister, but on the other it was getting harder and harder to sneak away to meet Spike.

"So, what's the plan for today?" Dawn asked. Buffy shrugged.

"We're meeting at the Magic Box sometime this afternoon," Buffy said. "We still have to try to find out what we're dealing with."

"Who, the woman? Oh, don't worry about her. Next time, you'll take her," Dawn said with supreme confidence. There wasn't anything demony that Buffy couldn't handle. Buffy smiled tightly and sighed. Her doubts buzzed around in her head. She had never come up against something that she couldn't handle in the end, but the woman…Buffy found herself actually frightened of confronting her again.

"Can we go patrolling?" Dawn asked. "I know it's day and all, but you could show me around the cemetaries and teach me tricks and tell me stories."

Buffy looked down at her sister and considered that for a moment. It couldn't hurt; there wouldn't be much danger in the daylight. "Sure," she said after a minute. "Go get dressed. Make sure and wear comfortable shoes."

"Cool!" Dawn exclaimed, and shot up the stairs. Buffy smiled again, this time feeling better. She turned off the TV and picked Caddie up.

"What do you think, honey?" she asked her infant daughter. "You want to go patrolling?"

Caddie gave her mother a toothless grin and grabed at her toes. Buffy stood and made a mental note to thank Doyle again for the baby harness.

*****

The bell above the door to the Magic Box rang wildly when Dawn burst into the shop. "Giles!" she yelled gleefully. "Giles, guess what!" The proprietor of the shop blinked, startled, as the enthusiastic teenager bounded towards him.

"I saw a demon!" Dawn exclaimed, practically vibrating in excitement. "Buffy and I went patrolling and I actually saw a demon! It was big and purple and all scaly!"

"It was also very polite and friendly," Buffy added as she entered the shop at a much more sedate pace. Caddie, strapped securely to Buffy's chest, kicked her little legs as if trying to run in the air. "He was a Horanat demon by the name of Onn. Bowed, introduced himself, and asked 'how do you do.'" She smiled. "I kinda liked him."

"Horanat demons are a very peaceful species," Giles confirmed, smiling back. When Buffy joined him, he reached over and tweaked Caddie's foot. The baby burbled happily and kicked more enthusiastically. "They're earth mystics, into healing and nature. Willow and Cordelia actually could learn quite a bit from him."

"Cool," Buffy said. She looked around. "Where are the boys?"

"Angel's in the back, catalouging the new merchandise. Doyle is lying down. He has a migraine at the moment."

Buffy stilled, her face growing worried. "A vision? What about?"

"He wouldn't say," Giles replied distractedly. "Dawn, please don't touch that. It's very fragile."

Buffy fetched the playpen from behind the counter and set it up, putting in a few toys and a blanket before lowering Caddie into it. As she circled the research table, she noticed several Watchers' journals and the Slayer Handbook. Buffy chewed her lower lip, suddenly reminded of the Council's impending visit.

The bell rang and Buffy looked up. Oz held the door for Willow and Buffy craned her neck to see if Xander and Anya were behind them, but then she saw Cordelia and shuddered. She still forgot sometimes, that Xander and Anya were gone. Murdered trying to protect Buffy and her unborn child.

"Greetings, Magic Box," Oz said, looking around. "We're missing people."

"I'm here," Angel said as he emerged from the back. "Doyle's still lying down. He's not feeling well."

Cordelia frowned. "Well, did anyone get him a cold compress?" she asked, sounding annoyed. "It helps after a vision." She hurried off to tend her boyfriend, muttering under her breath about the insensitivity of men.

"I feel, at the moment," Giles said as they seated themselves around the table, "That it's important to prepare for the Council's visit."

"Why are they coming?" Oz asked, drumming a beat on the table with his fingers. "Didn't Buffy say she was done taking orders from them? And they fired you," he nodded in Giles' direction.

Angel placed his hand on the back of Buffy's neck and brushed his thumb against the scar there. The scar he had given her when he was dying from Faith's poison and the Council had refused to help so Buffy had taken matters into her own hands.

"Honestly, I have no idea why they're coming," Giles admitted. "But we can't let them catch us off guard."

"Okay," Willow said, rubbing her hands together. "What preparations need being prepared?"

Angel was suddenly distracted from Giles' reply by a new scent. He sniffed deeply, trying to recapture it, but only detected a trace. "Oz," he said, calling on the only other person in the room who came close to his olfactory sensitivity. "You getting this?"

Oz frowned and sniffed a few times. "Yeah," he said slowly. "Smells like…demon." The werewolf slipped to his feet and walked towards the back room, still sniffing. Angel got up and started to follow. Oz stepped over the threshold and barked a sharp warning before something sent him flying backwards.

Two black-clad demons stepped out from the training room and advanced slowly into the store. The front door burst open and three more demons entered, growling menacingly.

"Oh…dear," Giles muttered.


	6. Chapter 5

Angel made to move forward and then felt as if time froze around him. The demons were between him and Caddie's playpen, and even as he realized this, one of the demons turned as if noticing the infant for the first time.

Dark fury boiled in Angel's soul, and Angelus woke from his previously dormant state. _Kill!_ the demon roared. _Kill them! Rip them to pieces!_ With an animal snarl, Angel launched himself over the table, body checking the demon nearest his daughter.

The other demon turned its attention to Oz, who was picking himself up off the floor. It was perhaps seeking an easier target, but it had gravely miscalculated. Thanks to Giles and Angel's training, Oz had tamed the beast within. The young man's eyes turned golden and claws sprang from his fingertips. He lashed out, raking the demon across the chest.

The other three demons found themselves confronted by a witch, a Slayer, and a Watcher, none of whom were as unprepared as the demons might have hoped.

Angel slammed the demon's head against the ground, but it managed to twist out of his grasp and regain its feet. Angel snatched an axe hanging on the wall and swung with all his might, burying it deep in the demon's side. It howled in pain and slumped to the floor.

Oz's demon was gurgling its life away around the claws embedded in its throat, the werewolf looking on in grim satisfaction. Giles pulled his sword out of his demon's chest even as Buffy's opponent slid from her hands. Willow squeaked in fear as the remaining demon lashed out at her again. Angel cocked his arm back and threw the ax, which buried itself deeply in the demon's face.

Angel stood panting and shaking, Angelus still screaming for blood. Then Cordelia screamed from the back room. He turned in a flash and raced into the training room, where Doyle, in full Brachan glory, was desperately trying to fend off one of the demons, while Spike wrestled yet another on the floor.

Angel slipped in beside his friend and snapped that demons neck, feeling Angelus' ruthless pleasure. Spike had his hands clamped around the surviving demon, choking it until it moved no more. Then the vampire pushed it away and got to his feet, dusting himself off.

"Well, that was bracing," he managed to get out before Angel slammed him against the wall.

"What are you doing here?" Angel demanded, fighting against Angelus for control.

Spike cocked a dark eyebrow and sneered. "Heard there was a new bad in town. Some bird by the name of Glory. She hired some demons to off the Slayer."

"And you came to watch?" Angel hissed. Spike snorted and pushed Angel away.

"I helped, didn't I?" he retorted. "And there's no need to thank me." He glanced toward the door to the front room. "'Lo, bit. You all right?"

Angel followed Spike's gaze and saw Dawn standing there, eyes huge and staring. She nodded jerkily, and then was pushed aside as Buffy and Giles entered.

"Spike," Buffy said. "What are you doing here?"

"Watching your backsides," he muttered, kicking at the demon he had killed. "You know, Brachans aren't much good in a fight. Shouldn't have left him alone."

"He wasn't alone," Cordelia snapped.

Spike scoffed. "Right. Sorry."

Angel growled and grabbed Spike by the collar of his leather coat, dragging him out the back door and into the alley. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he asked, furious.

Spike quickly disentangled himself and got right up into Angel's face. "I told you, I came to help. Like it or not, Peaches, but we're on the same side."

Angel's fist caught Spike under the jaw, sending the vampire staggering. Instinctively, Spike retaliated, throwing a left jab into Angel's cheek. As Angel regained his balance, he realized that Spike's chip hadn't activated. Instead, the vampire sneered at him.

"I know the real reason you don't want me around," Spike said. "It's because you don't want to be reminded of what you were. Of what you still _are_."

"No," Angel—Angelus—hissed.

"Oh, yes. You're heart might beat, but the demon's still there." Spike spread his arms. "No pain. You want to know why? Because you _aren't fully human_. Does Buffy know Angelus is in there?" he jabbed Angel hard in the chest.

"You're wrong," Angel growled, wrestling the inner demon into submission.

Spike scoffed. "You can lie to yourself all you want, Angel, but you can't fool me. Unless you accept the fact you've got a demon to control, you're going to wind up hurting someone. I'm just going to make sure it's not Dawn." Then he turned on his heel and strode away into the gathering twilight.

Angel slid to the ground, suddenly very weak. Ever since he had first felt Angelus' presence after his return to humanity, he had been afraid. Now Spike had confirmed those fears in the worst possible way.

The door opened behind him and he breathed in a lungful of sun-dried linen and herbs. He turned his head away when Buffy crouched beside him. "What happened?" she asked softly. "What did Spike say?"

"Nothing," Angel whispered. "Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah. Caddie's pretty shaken up. Doyle is trying to get her to calm down."

"Good," Angel said softly. Not for the first time he wondered if he deserved her, the amazing woman beside him or the daughter being comforted by his best friend. And he knew, deep down, that he didn't. He didn't deserve any of it: the humanity, the happiness, anything.

"Angel, tell me what's wrong," Buffy insisted, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"I'm fine," he said dully, still not looking at her.

"I can feel it, in my soul," she whispered. "You're hurt and it's tearing me up inside."

"I don't want to talk about this anymore," Angel said brusquely, getting to his feet. "Nothing's wrong. Will you leave it alone?" The look of hurt on her face was too much and Angel fled back inside the magic shop, where Giles was comparing a picture in the book to the bodies they had dragged into the training room.

Angel gathered a still-fussing Caddie from Doyle and fixed Dawn with a look. "Come on," he said sharply. "We're going home." He turned to Giles. "I don't mean to bail on you, but I really should get the girls home."

"Yes, yes," Giles said, waving them on. "Of course. We'll take care of things here. Ah, Oz, you might want to, um, clean up a bit."

Oz raised his eyebrows, looked down at his blood-covered hand, and nodded. He headed toward the bathroom, Willow eyeing him somewhat uneasily. Buffy returned to the shop and looked at Angel with a shuttered expression.

"We're leaving," he told her, and she nodded.

The walk home was silent, the explanation to Joyce was brief. Buffy put Caddie down to bed and slowly descended the stairs. Angel was in the kitchen standing hunched over the sink.

"I thought you said you can't lie to me," Buffy said coldly. Angel's shoulders tensed.

"Buffy, this is not something I want to talk about," he said, his voice void of emotion.

"You know what, I don't care," she replied, leaning against the doorjamb. "We are going to get married, Angel. When, I'm not exactly sure, but it's going to damn well happen. And this isn't the sort of thing that contributes to a healthy marriage. I should know. I watched my parents' marriage fall apart."

He turned around slowly to face her, his eyes haunted with pain. "I can't do this," he said softly. "Not right now."

"Now." Buffy was implacable. "I am not sleeping next to someone who won't let me in."

He put his head in his hands, clearly fighting some inner battle. Buffy crossed her arms and waited.

"He's not gone," Angel finally said. "Angelus. He's still…here. Inside. I can hear him, when I'm angry—or fighting. He wants me to hurt…things. You."

Buffy couldn't help herself. She let out a short, humorless bark of laughter. "God, that's _it_?" she asked in disbelief. Angel's head shot up.

"What do you mean, that's _it_?" he demanded. "Buffy, there's a demon inside of me!"

She walked across the kitchen. "Angel, there was a demon inside you when I first fell in love with you," she reminded him. "You've controlled that demon for almost a hundred years."

"With one notable exception," he muttered.

Buffy shook her head. "We already know that's not an issue anymore. Your soul is one hundred percent all right here." She placed her hand over his heart, feeling his pulse against her palm. "And it's not going anywhere." She looked up at the face of her beloved. "I still love you. I always loved you. Even when you were Angelus I loved you. You just have to trust me."

"I'm sorry," he said, cupping her face in one hand.

"And I forgive you. Now kiss me."

He obliged, a tender yet feather light brushing of lips. Buffy wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his face down to hers.

"Buffy?" They pulled away hastily as Joyce entered the kitchen. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt anything." A faint blush crept up Joyce's cheeks.

"It's okay, Mom," Buffy said quickly. "What is it?"

"Nothing, never mind," Joyce replied. Then she got a cunning expression. "Why don't you two take the night off?" At their blank expressions, Joyce elaborated, "I can take care of Caddie for the night and you two spend some time together. No researching, no patrolling. Just the two of you."

"Really?" Buffy asked, exchanging a look with Angel. "You don't mind Caddie?"

"Of course not," Joyce said indignantly. "Go on with you. Have fun."

Angel took Buffy's hand and led her out of the kitchen. As he passed his future mother-in-law, he placed a swift kiss on her cheek.

Back at their apartment, a trail of clothes led to the bedroom door.


	7. Chapter 6

For the first time in two and a half months, Buffy didn't wake up to Caddie fussing in her crib. It took Buffy a moment to remember where her daughter was, but when she did, she smiled and snuggled closer to the warm body of her fiancé.

"It's morning already?" Angel groaned, throwing an arm across his face to block out the light.

Buffy trailed her fingers across his bare chest. "Mm-hmm," she replied idly. "But we don't have to get up, yet."

"Oh, good." Angel rolled onto his side and gathered her in his arms. "Doyle said the Council arrives today," he said into her hair. Buffy smacked him

"Not contributing towards nice, romantic feelings," she said rather crossly.

"Sorry," Angel apologized and kissed her. When he broke away, Buffy pouted at him.

"What, that's it?"

With a playful growl, he nipped her lower lip and then kissed her again. "We probably should get going," he said reluctantly. "You have classes and all."

"Yes, yes. The Council's a-coming." Buffy sighed and grabbed one of Angel's t-shirts. "I wish I knew what they wanted," she said as she pulled it over her head. She tried to run her fingers through her tangled hair and winced. "Why don't you ever tell me I have bed hair?" she half-wailed.

Angel kissed the tip of her nose. "Because you look cute with bed hair."

She stuck her tongue out at him and Angel surprised her with a passionate kiss, his tongue slipping past her lips. Again, he broke away reluctantly. "We need more time off," he complained.

"Not until after we defeat Glory, or whatever the hell her name is," Buffy said with a sigh.

"Then let's hurry up and kick her ass," Angel said firmly.

Buffy felt her eyes widen at Angel's unaccustomed strong language. He winked at her and, now fully dressed, headed to the kitchen. "Waffles or pancakes?" he called.

"Waffles!" she called back, going to the closet. Urgh. She was not looking forward to this day. Then she smiled wistfully. At least she would have memories of last night to tide her over.

*****

Caddie was exercising her tiny but powerful lungs when Angel walked into the Magic Box. The pediatrician was surprised at the infant's level of development, but neither Angel nor Buffy were concerned. It was only natural for Caddie to inherit at least some of her parent's unusual qualities.

Cordelia looked up from the research table where she was, as usual, studying witchcrafts. Her face lit up in a smile as she caught sight of the car seat Angel was carrying. She left her book on the table and hurried over, reaching down to pick Caddie up. "Aw, there's my favorite little person," she crooned, tickling Caddie's cheek to make the baby giggle.

Angel smiled at his friend. Raising a child was so much easier when you had a group of people completely devoted to her. "Thank God you don't work," he told Cordy.

She snorted. "You're kidding, right? Because trying to catch up with Willow and playing nanny to Caddie isn't work."

He grinned sheepishly. "Not what I meant."

"I know," Cordy said, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "She's been fed, right?"

"About half an hour ago," Angel replied, going behind the counter to look over the sales. "Is Doyle here?"

"Right above you, mate!" Doyle called from the loft where Giles kept his private collection.

"You a hundred percent positive about the Council arriving today?"

"Since when are my visions wrong?" Doyle asked, sounding hurt.

"Just making sure," Angel said distractedly, adding up the purchases in his head. A few love spells (none of which would probably work), a finding spell, crystal balls (no harm there), and an amulet to summon a guiding spirit. He put the logbook away. Nothing of any purport. He worried constantly that some novice magic user was going to get themselves in over their head and cause something to go boom, as Buffy would say.

He passed Giles on his way to the back room. An old friend of Giles' had sent him a box of strange figurines; Angel knew a few spells to make sure they weren't dangerous. "Did you dispose of the bodies all right?" Angel asked his beloved's Watcher.

Giles adjusted his glasses. "Oh, yes. Spike helped with that, surprisingly enough. We took them outside of town and burned them. Is Dawn all right? I know the experience disturbed her."

"She's Dawn," Angel replied wryly. "She bounces back." Then he sobered. "Spike said that someone named Glory sent the demons after Buffy. I—Buffy and I—think that Glory might be the woman Buffy encountered. And if that's true, then she's after Dawn, as well."

Giles sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Glory. Hmm. That may help in my research. I-I haven't found anything so far, but I'm not giving up yet."

Angel nodded and went to retrieve the figurines. He was really, really glad he was here, in Sunnydale, instead of in L.A. He hated to think Buffy might have had to deal with Glory without him.

The statuettes were revealed to be harmless despite their appearance. As Angel finished putting the incense and wolf's bane away, he heard voices coming from the shop. Unfamiliar British voices. The Council had arrived, just as Doyle had foreseen. With a sigh, he got to his feet and trudged out of the back room. As he emerged into the front room, all eyes turned to him.

The reactions of the Council members were nearly unanimous. They gaped at him for several seconds before the nearest two snatched crosses from the jackets and thrust them towards him.

Angel blinked in surprise and then growled, unamused. He reached out and snatched the cross nearest him with contemptuous ease and tossed it aside. "Those don't work anymore," he said coldly.

The strangers backed up and closed in around the man sitting at the research table. "Well, this is an unusual development," the man murmured. "Angelus, isn't it?"

"I prefer Angel, these days," Angel corrected stiffly, and looked around for Cordelia. She stood in one corner, Caddie in her arms.

"Angel," the man repeated. "And do you know who I am, Angel?"

"Quentin Travers, leader of the Watcher's Council," Angel replied. He felt threatened that these people were between him and his daughter, but he clamped down hard on his rising aggression.

"Good," Travers said calmly. "That takes care of introduction. Now would you mind telling me how you became immune to crosses?"

_They don't know I'm not a vampire,_ Angel realized. He glowered at Travers. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I do mind," he snapped. Giles, standing by the shelves, looked at Angel in surprise but said nothing.

"Giles, I am most curious as to why _Angel_ is in your shop," Travers said without looking at Giles. "And I'm concerned about his proximity to the Slayer."

Angel snorted in contempt as Giles stammered to find an answer. "I don't answer to the Council," Angel said. "I don't need to explain myself to you. I come and go as I please."

Doyle, standing behind the counter, lifted his chin and crossed his arms, looking very stubborn and ready to back his best friend up. Cordelia looked as if she wanted to disappear and take Caddie with her.

The bell over the door rang and Buffy stepped over the threshold. She caught sight of the strangers and tried to retreat unnoticed. "Ms. Summers," Travers called.

"Bad day," Buffy muttered as she reluctantly entered the store. "Bad, bad, day."

Travers stood and turned to face Buffy. "It's good to see you again," he said smoothly.

"Mr. Travers," Buffy said stiffly. Her eyes darted first to Angel, and then to Caddie.

"We were just discussing you training regimen with Mr. Giles," Travers said. "I was hoping you would give us a demonstration while we were here."

"N-now?" Buffy asked, blinking in surprise.

"No need to rush," Travers replied. "We have plenty of time. After all, we can't conduct the review in one night."

"Review?" Buffy echoed. "What review? Is that what this visit is about?"

"Oh, yes," Travers said. "We've already laid out our project for Mr. Giles. Nigel..."

One of the Council members cleared his throat. "It's an exhaustive review of your procedures and abilities. We'll observe your training, talk to your friends..."

Buffy sputtered, her eyes widening. "Talk to my friends?"

"Yes. We understand you're still taking civilians along on your patrols—" Travers began, but Buffy interrupted him.

"You've got to be kidding"

"He's not kidding," Nigel said gravely. "He's a very serious man.

Buffy glared at him. "Sorry, who are you?"

"They're a little tight-lipped about introductions," Giles said dryly.

Travers smoothly took control of the conversation. "Miss Summers- Buffy, I can sense your resistance. I don't blame you, but I think your Watcher hasn't reminded you lately of the relative status of the players in our little game. The Council fights evil. The Slayer is the instrument with which we fight. The Council remains. The Slayers...change. It's been that way from the beginning."

"Yes, that's a very comforting, bloodless way to look at it, isn't it?" Giles said bitterly.

"Giles, let me talk to Buffy. Because I think she's understanding me. Now, Ms. Summers, we understand you're having a bit of trouble with someone known as Glory. We have information that can help you. Pass the review and we'll give it to you without reservation."

"And if she refuses?" Angel demanded dangerously. Travers sent him a mildly curious look, as if to ask why he was allowed to speak in this matter.

"While I dislike to use such methods, there are certain…persuasions we can use. Mr. Giles could be deported within the day, never to set foot in this country again."

"What?" everyone who wasn't in the Council said at the same time. Their expressions of shock and horror were identical.

"You don't have that kind of power," Buffy said as if trying to convince herself.

Travers regarded Buffy with a condescending expression. "Perhaps you're used to idle threats and sloppy discipline, Ms. Summers, but you're dealing with grown ups now. Am I making myself clear?"

Angel could smell fear-anger-grief pouring from his beloved and Angelus was ready to rip Travers' heart out, but he forced himself to remain still, to pose no threat.

Buffy lifted her gaze to Travers' face, her eyes filled with hatred and revulsion. "Perfectly," she whispered.


	8. Chapter 7

Buffy turned away from Travers and walked over to Cordelia, who handed the baby over without a word. Angel moved to follow and found his way blocked by two Council members.

"Where are you going, Angelus?" Travers asked with a veneer of pleasantry that fooled no one.

Buffy froze, her expression blank. Caddie, realizing something was wrong, whimpered and stretched her arms toward her father.

"I'm leaving," Angel said tersely, not looking at the men separating him from his family.

"I think it best if you stayed away from Ms. Summers for the duration of our stay here," Travers said. "Or until we can determine if your influence is detrimental to the Slayer's well-being."

The ringing silence was broken by a great guffaw of laughter. Doyle leaned against the counter, tears streaming down his cheeks as his body shook. He tried to speak but broke down into chuckles again. "Good lord, man," he finally said. "The Powers That bloody Be could barely keep those two apart. You think for an instant you can?"

"You come in here and disrupt my life," Buffy said, almost shaking in fury. "You make threats and dangle promises. But you will not keep the father of my child away from me."

Angel brushed past the Council members and joined Buffy, putting a hand protectively on the small of her back. He glared at Travers, who was staring at them in utter shock. "It seems as if your sources aren't as complete as you thought they are," Angel said flatly.

As soon as they were out of the shop, Angel burst out angrily, "Those _bómánta mustrach amadán!_ Someone _really_ needs to take the _bata taobh amuigh de a toin!_"

Buffy looked up at him curiously. "Was that Gaelic?"

He sighed and pulled her against him. "I'm sorry. It's just that they have no right to do this to you!"

"They called you Angelus," she observed.

"I don't think they know I'm human."

Buffy giggled quietly. "Let them work that one out for themselves." Then she sighed. "They're conducting a review. I-I don't know if I can pass a review. What if I fail? What if they won't tell me anything about Glory?"

"You'll pass," Angel said flatly.

"How do you know?"

"Because you're the Slayer. And unless Faith wakes up from her coma, you're the only Slayer. Buffy, you have to realize that they need you more than you need them. You've done just fine without them for over a year."

"I know," Buffy said heavily. She bounced Caddie in her arms to keep the infant amused. Caddie had always been closely attuned to her parents' emotions, and therefore was as agitated as they were, fussing as she sucked on one tiny fist. "I can't believe they want to interview my friends!" she said after a moment.

"What? You don't think they're going to say bad things about you, do you?" Angel countered, reaching over to take Caddie from her. Caddie snuggled against her father's chest, settling down and dozing off.

"Well, I don't know about Cordelia…" Buffy said wryly. "Okay, Buff. Stop worrying. It's not going to help anyone." She suddenly smiled. "Did you see Travers' face when I told him you were Caddie's father?"

"Priceless," Angel agreed.

*****

"You are the father of Ms. Summers' daughter, is this correct?"

Angel glared malevolently at the Council member he knew only as Nigel. The man had a stuffy, old cologne scent that made Angel want to sneeze. "Yes," he replied tersely. He resented Travers insistence that he undergo an interview, but he couldn't risk Giles being sent away.

"Were you aware that Ms. Summers' pregnancy would interfere with her duties?"

"We took care of things," Angel said, crossing his arms and leaning back against the wall. He was in the living room of the Summers' residence. Dawn sat at the top of the stairs, listening in. Angel fervently hoped Nigel didn't mention anything about the Key.

"How precisely did you 'take care of things'?"

Angel swallowed a snarl and sighed through his teeth. "Giles, Willow, Oz and I—and sometimes Xander and Anya—patrolled in Buffy's place. We kept the vampire and demon population down and made sure nothing bothered the Hellmouth."

"It was your decision to remove Ms. Summers from her posting?" Nigel cocked an eyebrow as if suggesting Angel was at fault.

"I had reason to believe Buffy's life and the life of our child was in danger," Angel growled. "As it turned out, I was right."

"Yes. Ms. Summers was captured by the military organization known as the Initiative while the rest of her…friends were attempting to rescue you, am I correct?"

The contemptuous tone was too much. Angel surged forward, stepping into the patch of sunlight Nigel was standing in, and went toe-to-toe with the other man. "Two of Buffy's friends died trying to protect her that night," he snarled in Nigel's face. "How dare you imply they put my safety above hers! Any one of us would willingly give our lives for Buffy and she would do the same for us."

Angel's brown eyes bored into Nigel's until the man was forced to look away. "Do you even know that kind of friendship?" Angel asked softly. Nigel took a step backwards and Angel snorted. "I didn't think so."

Nigel left the house without another word, and Dawn descended the stairs. "You showed him," she said brightly. Angel sat down on the couch with a sigh. Dawn cocked her head. "Uh-oh. You have brooding face."

That teased a brief smile out of Angel. "I just hate the fact that they can come in here and think they can rule Buffy's life simply because she's the Slayer. They have no right."

"Then tell them that," Dawn said simply. Angel shook his head.

"If I or anyone else tries to interfere with the review, they'll deport Giles immediately and prevent him from ever coming back."

Dawn gasped in horror. "But they can't! I mean, Buffy loves Giles! _I_ love Giles! That's not fair."

"They don't care about what's fair or not, Dawnie," Angel replied heavily. "They only see a way for them to get what they want."

She plopped down on the couch next to him. "I hate the Council," she said sulkily.

Angel smiled again, this time a little wider. "Join the club," he told her. Then he patted her knee. "And the club needs hot chocolate."

"Marshmallows?" Dawn asked hopefully.

"Come on," Angel said, getting to his feet. He needed something to wash the bad taste out of his mouth.

They were sitting on the island in the kitchen, balancing marshmallows on their nose when the front door opened. Angel hopped down and went to meet her, but she was frozen in the entryway, staring at something in the living room. Instantly alert, Angel moved to her side.

It was a woman, standing in the middle of the living room with a mildly contemptuous expression. "So this is where the Slayer eats and sleeps and combs her hair." She looked around and caught sight of the playpen and the sleeping Caddie. "So _cute_. I can't even stand it.

Angel didn't need to be told who this woman was. Glory.

And she was between him and his child.


	9. Chapter 8

"What do you want?" Buffy demanded, not daring to move a muscle. She could feel Angel tense beside her; he was practically vibrating.

"You know what I want," Glory retorted, tossing her curly blonde hair and taking a step towards Caddie. "The Key. I think you know where it is. And that's a good thing."

"I'm glad you think so," Buffy said softly, edging toward the fireplace.

"Well, it's the only thing keeping you alive right now." Glory looked down at the sleeping infant with an unreadable expression. Angel began to move in the opposite direction as Buffy, as if to flank the intruder. Dawn peeked out curiously from the kitchen, trying to make sense of the situation.

"Buffy," Glory said in a singsong voice, suddenly between Buffy and the fireplace, where the poker rested. Angel took the moment of distraction to flash across the living room faster than a human should have been capable of and snatch Caddie into his arms.

"None of that," Glory admonished, shoving Buffy slightly in the chest. "If I'd wanted a fight, you'd know by the being dead right now." She sighed and sauntered away. "You think you're something special, don't you. Ooh, the Slayer. Stronger than humans. Who isn't? I could crush the life out of you easy as you'd break a nail. But I need the key." She spun around and pointed at Caddie in Angel's arms. "And you're going to tell me where it is."

"You leave them out of this," Buffy said dangerously. "This is between you and me."

"No, this is between me and my Key. You just happen to be in the way."

Buffy walked over and put herself squarely between Glory and her family. Glory snorted.

"You think you can stop me? I'll kill the baby. I'll kill you man, I'll kill your mom and your kid sister and your friends, and I'll make you watch. Unless you give me the Key."

Buffy didn't reply; she crossed her arms and stared the woman down.

"Obviously this is a one-time-only deal," Glory said with a dramatic sigh. "Next time we meet, someone you love dies bloody." She walked toward the door and Angel gave her a wide berth. As the door closed behind Glory, Caddie suddenly gave an almighty shriek of pure fear.

"Who was that?" Dawn asked in a little voice, her eyes wide in a pale face.

Buffy began to shake with repressed adrenaline. "That's it," she said softly. "I have had it with the Council."

"What are you going to do?" Angel asked, desperately trying to get Caddie to calm down. Joyce walked down the stairs, looking around in confusion.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Angel, stay with them," Buffy ordered, heading for the door. "Keep them safe."

"Buffy." He grabbed her arm. They looked at each other in silence for a heartbeat. "Good luck."

She nodded and opened the door. Spike stood on the threshold, his hand raised to knock. "Slayer," he said, looking startled. "Is everyone all right? I saw that crazy bird and I thought—"

"Everyone's fine," Buffy replied shortly. She grabbed Spike's arm and dragged him inside. "Stay here and help Angel protect them." She slipped out the door into the evening, leaving Angel and Spike glaring at each other.

The silence stretched past the breaking point. Finally, Dawn emerged fully from the kitchen. "Hi, Spike," she said brightly.

"Hello, Nibblet," he replied, turning deliberately away from Angel. "You finish your homework already?"

"No. I still have English. Do you know the difference between a preposition and a conjunction?"

*****

They were waiting for her at the Magic Box. Buffy strode in, having had time during the walk to calm down.

"You're late," Travers observed.

"I noticed," Buffy said with an edge of sarcasm.

"Well, we can begin the review at last," Travers said, reaching for a book. "We can skip the more obvious questions—"

"There isn't going to be a review," Buffy said softly and firmly. The whole room froze. Cordelia, Doyle, Willow, and Oz were up in the loft, watching with obvious fascination.

"I'm sorry?" Travers asked pointedly.

"No review. No interrogation. No questions you know I can't answer. No hoops, no jumps—" Nigel opened his mouth to speak and Buffy held up a hand. "And no interruptions."

She looked around, making sure everyone was paying attention. "Glory came to my house today." There were soft gasps and Giles looked alarmed. "Just to talk," Buffy continued. "She came into my home, and we talked. We had what in her warped brain probably passes for a civilized conversation. Why? Because she needs something from me. Because I have power over her."

She put her hands on the table and leaned toward Travers. "Power. I have it. You don't. This bothers you. You guys didn't come all the way from England to determine whether or not I was good enough to be let back in. You came to beg me to let you back in. To give your jobs, your lives some semblance of meaning."

Nigel sputtered in indignation. "This is beyond insolence—" Buffy's arm shot out and a stake quivered in the wall inches from his head.

"I'm fairly certain I said no interruptions," she said calmly.

"Excellent," Oz whispered not quite inaudibly from the loft.

*****

Buffy sat on the floor of the bedroom in her apartment, staring through the bars of the crib at her sleeping daughter. "A god," she whispered, still somewhat in shock.

Angel sat next to her, slipping his arms around her. "Yeah," he said quietly. "It's a lot to take in."

"Can I protect my family from a-a god?"

Angel kissed her temple. "We'll find a way."

The phone rang, jarringly loud in the silence. Angel sighed and reached up onto the dresser to answer it. "Hello?"

"Angel, it's Giles. I'm afraid I have some troubling news."

"What is it this time?"

"It's Faith. She's awake."

*****

The message said to go to Los Angeles. He had friends who would take care of her. Some big, important lawyer friends that could hook her up. It had been over a year. A whole fucking year gone from her life because of miss bitch Summers. As the lights of Sunnydale dwindled in the distance, Faith Lehane slouched in her seat on the bus. It was time to even the score.


	10. Chapter 9

"What is this for?" Angel asked in confusion when Buffy thrust the package in his hands.

"Happy birthday," she said sweetly, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek.

"Uh, Buffy, I don't even remember what day I was born on," he reminded her gently.

She sat down next to him at the table, sipping at her coffee. "Today, exactly one year ago, you became human again. So, happy birthday."

"Oh." Angel turned the small box over in his hands. "I didn't think of it that way."

"Open it," Buffy urged. Angel smiled at her enthusiasm and carefully tore the paper away to reveal a velvet jewelry box. Curious, he opened it and blinked in surprise.

"Do you like it?" Buffy asked, suddenly shy. Angel hesitantly touched the silver crucifix lying on the cushion, his fingers instinctively flinching away from the cross. Then he picked it up.

"It's beautiful," he told her sincerely, turning it in the light. "I…I didn't know what to expect." He put it on swiftly and fingered it where it lay against his collarbone.

"Well, I figured that since you gave me a cross the first time we met, I should return the favor." Buffy reached over and touched it. "Besides, you need one. Every vampire hunter should have one. Oh, and we're going to the Bronze tonight to celebrate. No arguments."

"You told the others?" Angel asked, not sure whether to feel apprehension or appreciation..

"I thought it was a good idea," Buffy told him matter-of-factly. "We've been worrying over Glory and Faith for the past month. It's high time for some fun. And birthdays are always fun."

"Always?" Angel asked archly. Buffy rolled her eyes.

"When they aren't _my_ birthdays." She leaned in and kissed him lightly. "Happy birthday, honey."

*****

Angel had to shoulder his way into the bar, but the other Bronze patrons made way easily enough; people were in a good mood tonight. As he leaned against the counter, he jostled the elbow of the woman standing next to him.

"Excuse me," he said quickly. "I'm very sor—_Kate?_" He blinked in surprise.

Her eyebrows shot up as she looked him up and down. "Angel. Wow. I was wondering where you disappeared to. It's been a year. You been here the whole time?"

"Um, yeah, actually. What—what are you doing here?"

"Not vacation, unfortunately," she said wryly. "Though I will say, Sunnydale isn't my idea of a perfect getaway spot. What enticed you away from the big city?"

"A couple of things," Angel said, still trying to get his balance. An arm slipped around his waist and Buffy appeared at his side.

"Hey, you," she said teasingly, giving Kate a sidelong glance. "You want to introduce me to the other beautiful blonde you're hanging out with tonight?"

Angel cleared his throat awkwardly and looked over at Kate, who was regarding Buffy with great amusement. "This must be one of those things, huh?" she asked.

"Buffy, this is Detective Kate Lockley with the L.A. police. Kate, this is Buffy Summers, my fiancée."

"Nice to meet you," Buffy said pleasantly.

"Likewise," Kate said, shaking Buffy's proffered hand. "So, Angel, you're definitely living up to your mystery guy persona. A fiancée. Who knew. When's the big day?"

"Not any time soon, unfortunately," Buffy replied. "Our life right now is completely insane. We're lucky to grab coffee once in a while, much less a ceremony." She tilted her head. "What brings you to the back end of nowhere, Detective Lockley?"

"A case," Kate replied. "I've tracked a suspect here from L.A, though this is where she originally started from."

"Oh?" Angel asked, suddenly curious.

"Let me buy the next round of drinks and I'll tell you what I can," Kate offered. "Maybe you have information I can use."

"Sounds fair," Buffy said. "But since the cops are around, I'd better stick to Coke. I'll be back in a minute." She stood on her tiptoes to kiss Angel's cheek.

"Where's Willow and Cordy?" Angel asked. "You left them alone together?"

"No, Doyle's with them. And Oz is done after this set so they'll have two chaperones," Buffy assured him as she headed towards the bathrooms.

As soon as she was out of hearing range, Kate leaned in and asked incredulously, "She's under the drinking age?"

Angel wasn't sure whether to be indignant or sheepish. "Um, yeah," he said after a moment. Then he added, "We started dating when she was in high school."

"What's the age difference?" Kate demanded.

"Nine years," Angel lied, using the age at which he was turned as a reference. He had been twenty-seven for a very, very long time.

"And her parents are okay with that?"

"Hey, Joyce happens to really like me, okay?" Angel said defensively. When his and Kate's beers arrived, he popped the lid off his and took a drink. "We make it work."

"Well, congratulations, anyway," Kate said with a shrug.

Buffy returned and claimed her cherry Coke, sucking on the marachino cherries as she listened to the conversation.

"You were going to tell us about your case?" Angel prompted. Kate smiled mischeviously and turned to Buffy.

"He has a last name, right?" she asked. "Did he tell you his last name? Because he won't tell _me_ his last name."

"Angel's going to take my last name after the wedding," Buffy said mildly.

"Really?" Kate turned to Angel, her eyebrows raised. "You know, only rock stars and the Pope go by one name."

"You got me," Angel said sarcastically. "I'm the Pope. Now what about the case?"

"Okay, okay. Armed robbery and assault and battery. Showed up in Los Angeles a few weeks ago, made some noise, and headed back this way. I have a picture," Kate dug around in her purse and pulled out a grainy, black-and-white print. "Her name's Faith Lehane."

Buffy's glass shattered in her hand, startling all three of them. Kate jumped back out of the splash zone and Angel reached for some napkins, but Buffy didn't react right away.

"Are you okay?" Kate asked, kneeling to pick up glass fragments. "What happened?"

"I-I didn't mean to—i-it was an a-accident," Buffy stammered.

"You're bleeding," Angel said softly, pressing a napkin to Buffy's palm. The bartender showed up with towels, and they moved out of the way.

"From your reaction, I take it you know Lehane?" Kate inquired.

"W-we met a few times," Buffy said. "We didn't really run in the same crowds. I just never expected her to turn bad o-or anything."

"She woke from a nineteen-month coma four weeks ago," Kate told them, unaware she was repeated information they already knew. "We're not sure why she went to L.A, but we're pretty sure she came back to Sunnydale looking for the person who put her in the coma in the first place."

"W-what?" Buffy gasped. Kate missed the color leaching frm the younger woman's cheeks.

"Lehane wasa brutally beaten and stabbed. She's out for revenge. If we don't find her soon, it could get ugly."

Just then, two women slipped through the crowd to join them. One was a petite redhead, the other was a tall brunette. "Hey!" Willow said perkily. "We were looking for you. Wondered where you'd gone off to."

"I know you," Cordelia said, pointing at Kate. "You're the detective lady from Los Angeles."

"Yup, that's me," Kate said, smiling. "More friends of Angel's? Wow, he actually has a life here."

Angel rolled his eyes and replied equally sarcastically, but Willow noticed Buffy's distracted state. "What's wrong?" she asked quietly.

"Faith's back," Buffy whispered. Willow gasped, her eyes flying wide. Buffy turned to Angel and laid a hand on his arm. "Angel, I-I think I need to go. It's been a long day a-and we should get Caddie. Besides, Mom's been watching her too much and…" she trailed off and looked at him pleadingly.

"Yeah, we probably should leave," he replied. He turned to Kate. "It was great seeing you. If we hear anything about Lehane, we'll let you know."

"Appreciate it," Kate said with a nod.

"Tell the others?" Buffy said softly to Willow. "Meeting tomorrow at the shop."

"Got it," Willow replied. "Rest well."


	11. Chapter 10

"So, Faith is back in town. This is just lovely." Giles removed his glasses and rubbed his forehead. "Angel, you tracked her to Los Angeles and that law firm, didn't you?"

"Wolfram & Hart," Angel confirmed. "I ran across them a few times while I was in LA. Not the friendliest group of people."

"I have a suggestion," Willow piped up. Everyone turned to look at her. "Beat the crap out of her."

Buffy smiled tightly. "Not exactly that simple, Will."

"You did it the last time you two fought," Willow reminded her.

"And it's pretty clear what she's after this time," Oz added. "Revenge."

"She's going to come after me," Buffy said with a nod. "I can deal with that. But Mom's still in the hospital for observation, and there's Dawn—"

"I can stay with Spike," Dawn suggested. Buffy glared at her younger sister.

"I already talked to you about Spike, Dawn Elizabeth. You aren't supposed to be spending time with him."

"That's not fair!" Dawn exclaimed. "You aren't Mom! You can't tell me who I can and can't hang out with."

"As fascinating as this conversation is," Giles interrupted, "It isn't helpful to more immediate concerns."

"We have to find Faith," Angel said. He was playing with the wooden-bladed knife Oz had given him the day before. "Preferably before she makes her first move."

"We can use a location spell," Cordelia suggested brightly, and then frowned. "Oh, wait, that wouldn't work. We don't have anything of Faith's to use as a reference."

Doyle raised his hand. "Uh, I've got a question. Who's Faith?"

Buffy blinked. Surely they had mentioned her at some point…guess not. "Short version, my psycho homicidal sister Slayer. She used a poison to try to kill Angel. The only cure was the blood of a Slayer. She ended up in a coma and I got this." She touched the scar on her neck and Angel pointedly looked away.

Doyle peered at the scar in confusion for a minute, and then his expression turned to surprised horror when he realized what it was. "Oh," he said weakly.

"We have civilians looking for Faith," Angel said, his voice flat. "If we don't step in, they're going to get hurt."

"There are only so many places to hide in Sunnydale," Cordelia said. "We'll find her eventually."

"I have a better idea," Buffy said, crossing her arms. "I'm going to let Faith come after me."

There was a burst of protests, which quickly wound down when they realized it was probably the best plan.

*****

Faith stood in the shadows on the back porch, peering in through the window, spying on the lives that played out within. For a moment the kitchen was empty, and then Buffy entered from the direction of the dining room.

"I'm serious, Dawn," she said. "Spike is dangerous. It's not safe for you to be around him."

Dawn followed her sister, carrying an armful of plates. "He has the chip, remember? It's not like he can hurt me."

"That's not what I meant," Buffy retorted. "Spike isn't exactly the most responsible of people. I don't trust him to take care of you. Who knows what kind of trouble he could get you into?"

"Spike would never get me into trouble," Dawn protested hotly. "He _likes_ me. You don't even know! You never spend any time with him. He's good now."

"He's a _vampire_, Dawn! You cannot be friends with a _vampire_!"

"You were!" Dawn put her hands on her hips and glared at her older sister. Buffy shook her head.

"That's different," she began, but Dawn interrupted.

"Of course it's different. It's always different for you. 'I'm so special I'm the Slayer I can do whatever I want.' It's not fair!" With that she turned and ran out, leaving Buffy standing by the sink. After a minute, who should enter but Angel himself.

Faith blinked in surprise. Gone was the dark, brooding vampire she had come to know and hate. In his place was a much more relaxed person with brown eyes sparkling with laughter. _Isn't there some sort of catch? Like he'd loose his soul or something? What the fuck is going on?_

Buffy looked up at him. "Did Caddie go down okay?"

"Sleeping like a rock." He put his hands on her waist and leaned his forehead against hers. "If rocks slept, that is. Where did that saying come from anyway? It's only slightly less disturbing than 'sleeping like the dead.' Which makes no sense since I'm a very light sleeper."

"I know," Buffy said, her voice full of amusement. Then she sighed. "Dawn isn't being very cooperative."

Angel leaned back and studied Buffy's face carefully. "I can talk to Spike. Tell him to leave Dawn alone."

"Do you think it would work?"

Angel's expression grew cunning. "I can be very…convincing when I need to be."

"He can hurt you, remember?" Buffy reached up to touch his face.

"Just because he's _able_ doesn't mean he _can_," Angel told her. "I'll be fine."

"Okay." Buffy went up on her tiptoes to kiss him soundly on the mouth. "I love you."

Angel replied with a lingering kiss. "I love you."

Faith turned away from the window, sickened by the show of tenderness. The whole world was sick. Buffy, the one who had tried to kill her, who had put a fucking knife in her gut, was happy and living her life with her so-called "soul mate." Well, Faith was going to shake things up a bit. It was time for Buffy to bleed.

*****

Dawn carefully shut the front door and paused, waiting to see if anyone had heard. She slipped off the front porch and broke into a jog, heading for the graveyard. It was early enough that Spike wouldn't have left the crypt.

She was so tired of Buffy trying to play at being Mom and telling Dawn what to do. If she wanted to hang with Spike, then Buffy wasn't going to stop her. Besides, it wasn't as if they'd miss her. Angel and Buffy would be too busy to notice she was gone.

She poked her head into Spike's crypt and looked around. No sign of Spike. She walked over to the hole in the floor and called, "Spike? Spike, you awake?"

There was a loud thump and a muffled yell. Dawn smirked behind her hand. "Nibblet?" Spike called. "That you?"

"Yeah! Can I come down?"

"Just a minute." She heard him rustling around and then he called, "All right."

She scurried down the ladder to see him standing in jeans and a t-shirt, running a hand through his un-gelled hair. "What's up, bit?" he asked.

"I was hoping we could do something tonight," she said. She stuck her hands in her back pockets. "Mom's still in the hospital and Buffy and Angel tend to forget I exist."

"Oh." Spike scratched his head. "You want to stay in or go out?"

Dawn brightened, pleased that someone actually wanted to hand out with her. "Can we go out? Please? We could go to the Bronze or, or see a movie, or go patrolling."

"I've told you a hundred times, I'm not taking you patrolling. You could get hurt."

"I'd be careful," Dawn pleaded. "I'd stay hidden, I promise. You won't even know I'm there."

Spike seemed to consider that for a while. He had been feeling antsy lately, with lots of pent-up aggression. Indulging in a spot of violence would do him good. And, if he was perfectly honest, he did want to show off a little."

"Fine," he said after a minute. "But you promise to say out of me way?"

"Cross my heart!" Dawn said, practically jumping up and down. Spike grabbed his duster and a stake.

"All right. Let's do this."

As the pair emerged into the night, a shadow detached itself from a nearby mausoleum and began to stalk them.


	12. Chapter 11

Dawn watched with baited breath as Spike traded blows with another vampire. Each time Spike was hit, she winced in sympathy, but she kept to her promise and stayed hidden behind a gravestone. With an impressive spinning kick, Spike sent his opponent reeling, giving the chipped vampire an opening to drive his stake home.

Dawn was about to jump out of her hiding place to congratulate him when a voice stopped her.

"Nice, bro. You got style." An athletic-looking brunette slunk into view, stopping just out of striking range. "Then again, you probably got lots of experience." Then she turned and looked straight at Dawn. "So this is him, huh? The vampire big sis doesn't want you hanging with? Gotta admit, little D, he's hot stuff."

"Who the sodding hell are you?" Spike demanded, circling so he was between the woman and Dawn.

"Name's Faith," She replied with a toss of her hair. "Now what's a vamp doin' with a tasty bite like Dawnie, huh? You gonna drink her dry? Cuz I'll stand over here and watch, yo."

"Dawn, get out of here," Spike instructed. "Go straight home."

"No, Dawn," Faith said dangerously. "Don't go. I got plans for you." She lashed out with a vicious kick, her heel connecting with Spike's jaw. He sprawled to the ground, twitching a little.

"Spike!" Dawn yelled, lunging towards her friend. "You bitch!" she screamed at Faith. Without thinking, she launched herself at Faith, pummeling her fists ineffectually at the rouge Slayer.

"Well, look who's the little spitfire," Faith said admiringly. She grabbed Dawn by the arms and tossed her easily aside. "Take after B, now, dontcha?" She crouched beside Dawn and grabbed her face in one hand. "I got a little problem, Dawnie. And you know what that is? Nineteen months in a fucking coma while B gets her happily ever after. I'm not liking this scenario much, you know?" She squeezed Dawn's jaw, making the teen cry out in pain. "So I'm going to hurt you. It'll make me feel better."

With a yell halfway between anger and pain, Spike tackled Faith, sending them tumbling away from Dawn.

"RUN!" Spike bellowed, and this time Dawn obeyed, stumbling through the graveyard as fast as she could. She tripped and nearly fell headlong when a pair of strong arms caught and held her. She struggled wildly, screaming in fear.

"Dawn. Dawn!" Angel shook her not so gently. "I've been looking everywhere for you. Where have you been?"

"Faith! A-and Spike!" Dawn stammered, pointing back over her shoulder. "Faith is gonna kill Spike! You gotta do something."

Angel wavered visibly and for a moment Dawn was afraid Angel would leave Spike to Faith's non-existent mercy. Then he growled, "Stay here," and took off towards the sounds of struggle. Dawn crept back to the fight, desperate to see what was going on.

Faith was beating Spike badly, screaming at the vampire to fight back as she tossed him around like a ragdoll. Then Angel stepped in, slamming his fist into Faith's face with enough power to knock the Slayer backwards. He muttered something inaudible to the vampire and waded into Faith.

Spike took a few steps and then broke into a run. He grabbed Dawn's arm and half-dragged her through the cemetery. "Where are we going?" Dawn panted, trying to keep up with Spike.

"To get your sister," he replied tersely. "Come on, before that psycho bird finishes Angel."

Dawn burst into the house first, Spike on her heels. "Buffy!"

She appeared almost instantly at the top of the stairs. "Dawn? What's going on? And what the hell is Spike doing here?"

"Angel's in trouble!" Dawn yelled, ignoring the last question. "Faith! That way!" She pointed out the door and towards the cemetery. Buffy darted down the stairs and out the door without a second look at Spike.

Buffy felt the pull on her soul long before she heard the sounds of the fight. She always knew where Angel was. She vaulted over a tombstone and finally caught sight of the combatants. Faith was in a rage, moving with blinding speed, putting all her strength into each of her blows. Angel dodged rather than blocked, spinning and ducking and waiting for an opening to strike. Buffy ground to a halt in surprise to see her (human!) soul mate holding his own against an infuriated Slayer. Then she rushed to his aid.

"You finally made it, B," Faith said, breaking off her fight with Angel to confront Buffy. "What, afraid I was going to damage your undead boy toy? Oh, I'm sorry. Your _soul mate_."

"Get out of here, Faith," Buffy warned.

"Ooh, scary." Faith spread her arms. "What's the matter, B? You afraid to finish the job?"

"You can't face both of us, Faith," Angel said, ignoring the bruise forming along his cheekbone. "Leave. Now."

Faith's eyes darted back and forth, and then she took a step backwards. "This isn't over, B," she yelled, before turning around and running.

"You okay?" Buffy asked Angel, reaching up to touch his face.

"I'm fine," he said shortly, flinching away from her touch.

"Angel," she said hesitantly. "You were…strong. You fought harder than I've ever seen a human fight."

He looked away, his brown eyes dark with emotion. "I'm stronger when Angelus fights," he said softly. Then he sighed. "It gets harder each time, to control him."

"But you can, right?" Buffy asked. "Control him?"

"For now," Angel said heavily.

Dawn jumped up from the couch when they entered. "What happened?" she demanded instantly. "Are you all right? Did Faith get away?"

"Yes, and yes," Buffy replied. "Get Angel an icepack from the freezer, please."

Dawn nodded and headed for the kitchen. Buffy spotted Spike standing by the window and turned on him. "This is your fault!" she hissed. "You put Dawn in danger! She could have been hurt!"

"Buffy," Angel interrupted softly. "Spike kept Faith busy so Dawn could get away."

Buffy stuttered to a halt, looking from her lover to the vampire and back. "Oh." She said simply, and left for the kitchen. Angel met Spike's gaze and jerked his head towards the door. Spike nodded and moved around Angel to leave. As he stepped over the threshold, the vampire turned back.

"Why didn't you let Faith kill me?" he asked, Angel sighed and hunched his shoulders.

"Because no matter how much I hate you," he said, "You're my childe, and you'll always be my responsibility."

Spike nodded again, accepting the honest reply. As he stepped off the front porch, Angel called after him. "And Spike? Stay away from Dawn." Spike snorted and walked away into the darkness. Angel closed the door with a soft click.


	13. Chapter 12

"I cannot believe you snuck out of the house," Buffy said with a glare at Dawn as she held the icepack to Angel's face. "Do you have any idea how much danger you put yourself in?"

Dawn rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Sure, because _you_ didn't sneak out a lot when you were my age."

"No, I was fifteen," Buffy corrected, "And I'm the Slayer. I had an excuse."

"Yeah, you're the Slayer. That means you're special. You don't have to follow the rules like the rest of us," Dawn snapped, resisting the temptation to stomp her foot.

Buffy reared up off the couch, dropping the icepack. Angel picked it up and held it to his cheek, his expression declaring that he was staying out of this fight.

"Yes, things are different for me," Buffy said angrily. "They have to be. Because, yes, I'm special. I'm the Chosen One; the Slayer. That means I have to spend my nights fighting the bad guys. My life revolves around keeping the world safe so my little sister can walk down the street without getting killed. Do you know what kind of stress that puts on me?"

Buffy clawed her hands on either side of Dawn's head and growled. "Being the Slayer isn't fun, Dawn! It isn't about getting to break the rules. There's no glamour, no appreciation, and no one lining the streets. Do you get it? I wish to God I wasn't the Slayer, but I am, so I have to deal. I don't need to have to worry about you, too. So no more sneaking off to see Spike. You will not leave this house without someone with you. Do you understand?"

Dawn stared at Buffy through the tirade with tears in her eyes. "You're just trying to be Mom because she's sick and in the hospital," she yelled. "But you're not, and I hate you!" She whirled and pounded up the stairs, slamming her bedroom door behind her.

Buffy sighed and collapsed back on the couch. She looked over at Angel, who raised an eyebrow. "Don't say it," Buffy said glumly. "I know. I handled that badly. It's just, it could have been Glory out there, not Faith. And I am not going to let Glory get a hold of Dawnie, and not just because she's the Key." She crossed her arms. "The monks may have given her human form, but Dawn's my sister. I'm going to protect her."

"I know," Angel said, patting her knee. "You love Dawn. So do I. And she needs to be more careful. But you probably could have put it a little nicer."

"She doesn't get it!" Buffy burst out. "She doesn't get how important she is and I can't tell her! I can't tell her that she can break down the barriers between realities!" She turned to face Angel fully. "Travers said that her blood could literally end the world as we know it."

"I was there," Angel reminded her. "And you _could_, theoretically, tell her."

"Are you kidding?" Buffy said in disbelief. "She'd freak!"

At the top of the stairs, Dawn crouched in her doorway, one hand covering her mouth as realization sunk in.

*****

"Dawn?" Buffy called as she passed her sister's door the next morning. "Come on, we have to leave." She took a few steps backwards and knocked on the door. "You still want to come to the hospital to pick up Mom, right?" There was no answer. Buffy opened the door and stepped into the bedroom.

The bed was already made and there were clothes on the floor. Buffy bent and picked up a t-shirt, placing it on the vanity. "Dawn?" She looked around…and then saw the open window. "Oh, crap."

"Angel, Dawn's missing," Buffy burst out as soon as she reached the kitchen. He stared at her for a beat, Caddie in the crook of one arm.

"Missing," Angel echoed. "As in, gone?"

"Run away," Buffy elaborated.

"Crap," Angel muttered, reaching for the phone. "Giles can pick your Mom up, Cordy will watch Caddie and the rest of us will start looking. We have to find her before someone else does."

Buffy nodded, her eyes wide. "Why would she leave? Was I too harsh on her?"

Angel met her gaze. "She may have overheard us and freaked."

"Great. This is just great." Buffy paced back and forth. Suddenly she looked up. "I'm going to Spike's. She might have gone there."

"Okay," Angel said with a nod. "Meet us afterwards at the Magic Box. We'll organize a search."

Buffy climbed down the ladder to the lower level of Spike's crypt and looked around for the vampire. Over the past year, Spike had worked hard to make the place more comfortable. She noticed something tossed over the back of the sofa. It was a girl's jacket. She picked it up, fingering the name "Dawn" spelled in rhinestones across the back.

"God, do you people ever knock?" Spike demanded irritably. Buffy spun around, the jacket still in her hands. "Oh, well if that's all you came for, I was going to swing by tonight and drop it off." He rubbed the back of his neck and gestured towards the jacket. "She forgot it after a study session."

"Dawn's missing," Buffy said suddenly. "I was hoping she was here."

"What?" Spike suddenly went alert. "When did you last see her?"

"Last night, right after you left. I—uh—I kinda yelled at her, and she went to her room." Buffy's shoulders slumped. "I thought she'd come here."

"You think she ran off just because you yelled at her?" Spike asked in disbelief. "Slayer, Dawn's a bit tougher than that."

"No, she must have heard Angel and me talking," Buffy shook her head, unsure of how much to tell Spike. "We were talking about her. She must have heard wrong or, or something…"

"What did you say about her?" Spike demanded. "What were you talking about?"

"I can't tell you," Buffy said flatly. "For Dawn's sake, I can't say. Do you know where she might have gone?"

"There's a few places," he said. Then he growled. "Damned daylight." He looked at Buffy with intense blue eyes. "Find her, Slayer. Find her before Faith does."

*****

"Do you think Glory has her? Or, or Faith? Because both of those situations would be very, very bad right now." Willow twisted her hands together. She had learned the hard way that she tended to deal with stress very vocally. Completely in contrast with her, Oz barely spoke at all unless it was necessary.

"I'm sure she's fine," the werewolf told the witch calmly.

"I know, that's what I said. She's been running off a lot lately ever since Mrs. Summers started getting sick. I guess that's a normal teenager thing to do, after all I did some running off myself, of course it was mostly to be with Buffy and kill vampires, but it's all the same, right?"

"Breathe, Willow," Oz told her.

"I think we've already been down this street before," she said, looking around. "Haven't we already been down this street before? Because we can't waste time going back and looking where we've already looked before and—"

"Wait," Oz interrupted suddenly, stopping in the middle of an alley. Willow looked at him apprehensively.

"What is it?" she whispered. He turned his head this way and that, sniffing loudly.

"I think…I can smell Dawn." He prowled forward a few steps, his body tensed as if in anticipation of a conflict. "It is Dawn. And she's scared." He looked up at Willow. His blue eyes were tinged golden. "Contact Buffy," he ordered. "She needs to be here."

"Um, okay," Willow said, and closed her eyes to concentrate. After a moment, she felt the psychic connection snap into place. _"Buffy, can you hear me?"_

"_Willow? Is that you? Were are you?"_

"_An alley off of Second. Oz has caught Dawn's scent. He wants you here as soon as possible."_

"_I'm on my way. Don't do anything until I get there!"_

"_Got it."_ Willow opened her eyes. "She's on her way," she told Oz. Her boyfriend was crouched by a corrugated metal wall, peering through a tear in the metal.

"Good," he said. "I don't think we have much time." Willow crouched next to him and gasped. Dawn lay on the floor in the abandoned building, huddled in a ball and obviously scared. And pacing around her, looking extremely pissed off, was Faith.


	14. Chapter 13

Faith lashed out with her foot, catching Dawn in the back. The teen flinched and cried out, yet made no move to defend herself. Oz felt his hackles rise. He couldn't sit by and watch Faith torment the girl. He got up from his crouch and padded over to the door.

"Oz! What are you doing?" Willow demanded, her eyes wide.

"Buying Buffy some time," he replied, and pushed the door aside. Faith whirled to face the newcomer, a smirk twisting her features.

"Well, well, well," she said. "Look who's come to crash the party. You think you can take me, wolf-boy?"

Oz didn't reply, merely staring at the rogue Slayer. He was hardly an impressive sight, slightly built and barely taller than his girlfriend. "Let Dawn go," he ordered in an eerily calm voice. Faith spread her arms challengingly.

"Make me," she said.

Oz's eyes changed to gold and his body began to change. Muscles rippled over his arms and torso and a short, thick coat of reddish fur sprouted over his skin. His features became more animal, and when his lips curled in a snarl, it revealed long, sharp canines.

Faith wavered, clearly startled. Oz gathered himself and leapt across the open space between them, slamming his compact body into Faith. They tumbled over the ground, Oz ending up on top. He slammed his fist into Faith's jaw, temporarily stunning the Slayer.

"Willow! Get Dawn out of here!" His voice was halfway between a bark and a howl. The redheaded witch scrambled into the building. Faith shoved Oz off of her chest. He rolled away and jumped back to his feet with easy grace.

Faith yanked a knife from her belt and lunged at the werewolf. He spun out of her way, dodging the blade by centimeters. "You're not going to win this, wolf-boy," Faith snapped. "But I can dance with you all day." She brandished the knife. "I'll make you bleed."

Oz put his ears back and growled deep in his throat. Faith stabbed at him but he again slipped out of range. He had no intention of letting her cut him, and was equally determined not to scratch or bite Faith. The last thing they needed was a werewolf Slayer.

"What the hell is going on here?" a hard, feminine voice demanded. Oz risked a glance over his shoulder to confirm what his nose had already told him. A blonde woman stood in the doorway, a gun on her hip. She stared in utter horror and shock at Oz, who cursed inwardly.

"Oz, look out!" Willow yelled from where she stood protectively in front of Dawn.

Oz ducked at the last second and slammed his hand down on Faith's wrist, knocking the blade to the ground. With a snarl, he grabbed her throat and slammed her against the wall with enough force to knock the breath out of her.

Faith kicked out, slamming her booted foot into Oz's stomach. He flew across the room, hit the ground hard and rolled over, blood dribbling from his mouth. "I am so going to kill you for that!" she screamed at him, retrieving her knife.

"Police! Don't move," the strange woman yelled, drawing her gun. "Drop the knife."

"Go to hell," Faith snapped, and flung out her hand. The knife spun through the air, heading straight for the woman.

"_Subsisto motus!_" Willow cried, and the knife froze in mid air. "_Inflictus!_" Faith flew back into the wall again, shaking free a reign of dust.

Buffy arrived at that moment, shoving the police officer out of her way without a second's pause. She met Faith as the other Slayer was getting to her feet, landing a rib-cracking kick.

"This is between you and me, Faith," Buffy said. "You want a fight? I'll give you one."

Willow ran over to Oz's side and dropped to her knees. "Oz? Oz, are you okay? Oz, wake up!"

His eyes fluttered open to meet hers. "Ouch," he said weakly. His body was rapidly becoming human again.

"No, don't do that," Willow said in alarm. "You're hurt! Stay wolf!"

He blinked a few times, trying to regain concentration. Then the change halted and reversed itself. "Dawn?" At Oz's question, Willow looked back over her shoulder at the teenager in question. Dawn huddled against the wall, watching the Slayers fight with dull eyes.

Angel skidded to a halt in the doorway. "Kate?" he demanded, staring at the woman. "What are you doing here?"

"What is going on?" the detective asked. "What the hell is that?" she pointed at Oz, who was trying to get to his feet.

"Um…" Angel trailed off when he saw Faith and Buffy locked together.

The Slayers were a whirl of motion. Fists and feet moved faster than the eye could follow, meeting with bone-cracking force. Angel approached, looking for an opportunity to help Buffy.

Faith crashed into the ground, her nose and lip bleeding, and stayed there. "This is it, huh, B?" she tainted, wiping blood onto her jacket. "You gonna finish it this time?"

"I don't want to hurt you, Faith," Buffy said.

"This isn't about what you want!" Faith screamed, getting to her feet and lunging. Buffy dodged and tripped Faith, knocking the other Slayer off balance.

"It doesn't have to be this way," Buffy said, almost imploringly.

"Yes it does," Faith said panting. "You started it, B! You have to finish it!" She fell on Buffy in a fury, insensate in her rage. Buffy met her blow for blow, never losing her control. Within seconds, Faith was on the ground again.

"Stop playing with me!" Faith yelled. "Finish this! You're gonna finish it!"

Buffy's eyes widened as she finally realized what Faith wanted. To Angel's shock, she backed away, lowering her hands. "I won't do it, Faith," she said softly.

"You have to!" Faith yelled. "You have to finish it!"

"No. I'm not going to kill you," Buffy insisted.

Faith slammed her fist against the ground. "Fuck you! It's the only way! I'm bad! You hear me? I'm bad!" She launched herself at Buffy, still screaming, "I'm bad! I'm bad!"

Buffy pinned Faith to the ground, her knee between Faith's shoulder blades. "Listen to me, Faith," she panted. "I'm not going to kill you. You don't deserve that. You deserve justice."

"No," Faith moaned, breaking down into tears. Angel knelt beside Dawn, still staring at the Slayers. Dawn made no indication she even noticed Angel as he put his arm around her.

"This isn't how it ends," Buffy continued. "You did some horrible things, Faith, but that doesn't mean you deserve to die."

Faith sobbed into the dirt floor, her whole body shaking. Buffy released her former friend and gathered her in a hug. Faith clung to Buffy as if she was drowning.

"Is that really happening?" Willow asked, stunned.

"Huh," Oz said, holding a hand to his cracked ribs.


	15. Chapter 14

Red and blue lights spun crazily in the gathering twilight. Willow stood over by the ambulance where Oz and Dawn were being checked out, Buffy sat with Faith in the squad car, and Angel stood out of the way and watched, waiting for the inevitable. It took about fifteen minutes for Kate to work up the nerve to approach him.

"You going to tell me what happened or am I going to have to guess?" she asked warily. "Because about an hour ago, that man over there had fur." She pointed to Oz. "And the redhead stopped a knife in mid air."

"Willow's a witch," Angel said, shoving his hands into his pocket. "Oz is a werewolf. They've been dating for the past, oh, two years. They're very cute together. Willow will sit by his cage during the full moon and read Jack London to him."

Kate stared at him blankly and he relented. "Okay, so I shouldn't have put it that bluntly. But it's the truth."

"A werewolf," Kate repeated slowly.

Angel shrugged. "How else do you explain it? He had fur."

"Werewolves and witches don't exist," Kate said doggedly. "They're just legends."

He sighed. "The world is older than you know…" he mumbled under his breath. "Look, Kate, I know it's a lot to take in. I wouldn't even put it on you if you hadn't seen Oz. Most of the time we can explain it away, but a transformed Oz is hard to rationalize."

Kate dropped her head, clearly struggling with this new reality. Angel crossed his arms across his chest. "Come on, Kate. You've got to know I'm right. There has to have been cases that just don't make sense, where you never caught the perpetrator. The supernatural is perfectly natural."

"So." Kate met his gaze, her face determined. "Witches and werewolves, huh? What else is out there?"

"Vampires, demons, sorcery. You name it, and it probably exists." He could tell Kate still didn't fully believe him. "Did you ever wonder why you never saw me in the daylight?" he pressed.

She blinked several times. "You? No. You've got to be kidding. A vampire?"

"For over two centuries," Angel confirmed. "But I got better. I'm human _now_, but that's thanks to a very rare and very powerful demon."

"W-what about Buffy? And Faith Lehane?"

"Funny you should ask," Angel said dryly, his gaze switching to Buffy as she joined them. "How's Faith doing?"

"She's scared," Buffy replied. "But I think she's going to be okay." She eyed Kate closely. "Uh-oh. Did you give her the 'World is Older Than You Know' speech?"

"The extremely abridged version," Angel said. "We had just got to the good part."

"Oh. In that case," Buffy smiled and waved slightly. "Hi. I'm Buffy, the vampire Slayer. I'm the one girl in all the world chosen to fight against the forces of darkness. Except I died three years ago and now there's two of us."

"Faith," Kate guessed, looking over at the woman sitting in the cop car.

"Wow. You catch on fast." Buffy shivered slightly and pressed her fingertips to her forehead. "Listen, Detective Lockley, you can't tell anyone about Faith. One, no one would believe you. Two, if anyone did, they'd put Faith in some lab and poke her with needles. She doesn't deserve that."

"Why would they put her in a lab?" Kate asked, frowning. She seemed to be taking the news well, though Angel thought she looked paler than usual.

Buffy gave her a strange look and said, "You know what, forget I said that. Just…don't tell anyone what you learned today. It'll make things easier on all of us." She looked over at the trio by the ambulance. "Is it okay if we leave now? My Mom should be back from the hospital and I don't want her worrying about Dawn any longer than she has to."

"Yeah. Yeah, that's fine," Kate said distractedly. "How's your friend Oz?"

"Werewolf healing. He'll be fine in a few days," Buffy said. "Dawn, however, I'm concerned about."

"She still hasn't said anything?" Angel asked worriedly.

Buffy shook her head. "We need to get home."

"All right." Angel turned to Kate. "Are you going to stick around?"

"Um, no. I have to get back to LA." Kate paused and then extended her hand. "It was good seeing you, Angel. Good luck."

"Thanks." Angel shook her hand warmly. "You too."

*****

Everyone was waiting in the living room when they got back to the house. Even Spike was there, pacing along the wall. Joyce rose from the couch as fast as she could and hurried over to hug Dawn tightly. "Oh, Dawnie, I was so worried!" she exclaimed. "Are you all right?"

Spike was there in a flash, glaring down at the teenager. "Your mum was beside herself, bit," he said reproachfully. "You should know better than to wander off like that."

Giles turned to Buffy, eyebrows raised inquiringly. "Faith?" he asked.

"On her way to Los Angeles with Detective Lockley," Buffy assured him while Angel gave Cordy and Doyle a quick rundown of events.

"Good. Oz and Willow?"

"Hospital," Buffy told her Watcher. "Oz took Faith on to give me time to get there. He cracked a couple of ribs. He'll be okay."

Dawn pulled away from Joyce's embrace. "Stop it," she said bitterly. "You don't really care if I'm okay."

"Dawn, what are you talking about?" Joyce asked, completely bewildered.

"Don't call me that!" Dawn yelled. "I'm not real. I know it. You can't hide it from me forever!"

Everyone stared at her in silence. "Oh, dear," Giles mumbled, his quiet sigh over-loud.

"Dawnie, you weren't supposed to hear that," Buffy said sadly. Dawn shook her head, straight brown hair flying around her face.

"You lied! You lied to me and to everyone! I'm not real! I'm the Key! _I'm _what Glory wants!" She turned and ran up the stairs. Joyce turned to Buffy with a frown.

"What did she mean, Buffy?"

Buffy took both her mother's hands and led her to the couch. She took a deep breath and launched into the explanation. "It started out with a bunch of monks who guarded magical energy called the Key…"

*****

"So, how'd your mom take it?" Willow asked the next day after she had been told the truth about Dawn.

"Pretty good, actually," Buffy replied. The two young women were in the training room of the Magic Box, watching Caddie. The three-month-old was on her hands and knees, a look of intense concentration on her tiny face. She rocked forward and backwards as if trying to gain momentum. "She said that no matter what, Dawn was still her daughter."

"How's Dawn taking it?" Willow continued.

Buffy sighed. "Not so well. She holed up in her room. I can understand, you know. I mean, how would _you_ react if you found out you hadn't always been human?"

"I guess I would pretty much freak," Willow admitted. She looked down at Caddie. "Um, is she supposed to be doing that?"

Caddie resolutely placed one hand in front of the other and dragged her legs behind her, moving forward a few inches. She repeated the motion, all the time focused completely on her mother. She reached the place where Buffy was seated and plopped onto her diapered behind, clapping her hands at her accomplishment.

"She's been crawling for a couple of days, now," Buffy told her best friend. "The pediatrician wouldn't believe me when I called. Angel wasn't surprised; he just said that Caddie takes after me."

"That's pretty cool," Willow said, reaching over to tweak Caddie's foot. Caddie giggled, kicked her feet, and fell over backwards. Buffy laughed and picked her daughter up.

"Willow! You in here!" Cordelia stuck her head through the doorway. "Oh. Hi, Buffy."

"What's up?" Willow asked, turning to look at the other witch.

"I found it," Cordy said, emerging into the training room carrying a thick book.

"Really?" Willow asked, sounding startled.

"Found what?" Buffy wondered.

"According to this, we might actually be able to pull it off," Cordy went on. "There's a few things we'll need, but it shouldn't be too hard to get our hands on them."

"This is incredible," Willow breathed, staring at the page.

"What's incredible?" Buffy demanded. "What are you two up to?"

"A spell," Cordy explained. "Its purpose is to obliterate any living thing in close proximity to it."

Buffy blinked in confusion for a second before realization dawned. "Do you think it will work? Can we actually kill her like that?"

"Doyle said that pretty much anything that exists on the mortal plane can be killed," Willow said distractedly.

"There's just one problem," Cordy said uncomfortably.

"What?" Buffy asked flatly.

"The spell requires someone to be physically present to set it off," she replied grimly. "Someone will have to be there in order to kill Glory."


	16. Chapter 15

"I'll do it."

Three heads whipped around in shock. Spike stood at the back door, watching the three women with an uncharacteristically thoughtful look in his eyes.

"What?" Buffy asked in disbelief.

"I'll do it," Spike said again.

"Y-you will?" Willow squeaked. "But why?"

"Because, as I told the Slayer here once, I rather like the world as it is," Spike replied, shifting his weight under their scrutiny. "And because I'd rather not have anything happen to the little bit." He shrugged. "Besides, I'm technically dead, so who better to carry out the spell?"

There was a beat of silence. "He's right, you know," Cordy pointed out. "He's got the best chance of surviving the spell."

"See? Nothing to it." Spike turned to go and then turned back. "Oh. Here. Meant to give you this, Red." He walked over and placed a glass orb in Willow's hand. It looked as if it was filled with splintered light.

"A Josephus globe!" Willow exclaimed, taking it from him. "Where did you get it?"

"Took it off a demon I killed last night," he replied. "Thought you could use it."

Willow gaped at the unexpected generosity until Spike shrugged unhappily. "Well, I'm off. Let me know when you've got the obliteration spell ready." And with that he slipped out into the street.

"Okay…" Buffy said after a long moment. "Anyone else have any earth-shattering moments to share?"

"Aaagh!"

At the yell of surprise and pain, all three women flinched, but Cordelia was already hurrying back into the shop before the other two were on their feet. Cordy dodged around the counter and knelt on the ground, lifting Doyle's head into her lap.

"Doyle?" she said, holding his head still as he continued to twitch. "Doyle, honey, what is it? What do you see?" She looked up to see Buffy and Willow peering curiously down at her. "Advil, my purse," she instructed. "Icepacks in the mini fridge."

Buffy returned with the Advil, trying to keep a hold on her wriggling daughter. Willow followed a second later with a towel-wrapped icepack. Doyle groaned and lifted a hand to his forehead. "Bloody, bloody damn," he muttered. Cordelia placed the icepack against his head.

"What is it?" she asked.

"There's a man at a hospital," he said unevenly. "I think his name is…Ben. That's it, Ben. He knows Joyce. He's going to bring her flowers. He can't see Dawn. You can't let him see Dawn or he'll know!"

Buffy shoved Caddie into Willow's arms and lunged for the phone, dialing the phone number from memory. "Angel it's me. Where's Dawn? Make sure she stays there. Doyle had a vision. There's someone coming to the house, name of Ben. He's bringing Mom flowers. Make sure he doesn't see Dawn. He can't see Dawn!"

Angel hung up the phone and went cautiously to the door, peering through the glass panels to see a youngish, attractive man wearing a sweatshirt over a set of scrubs. "Okay, this could be Ben," he muttered to himself.

Joyce came out from the kitchen, wearing a scarf on her head to hide the shaved spot from the surgery. "Is there someone at the door?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah, but Buffy just called," Angel said, glancing up the staircase. Dawn's door opened and closed and she appeared at the top. "Go back to your room, Dawn," he said.

"I can get a drink of water," she said scathingly, beginning to descend.

"No! Go back upstairs and stay there!" he ordered harshly. When Dawn didn't move, Angel yelled, "Now, Dawn!" She fled in a storm of tears, and Angel went to open the door, promising himself to make up for it later.

The young man on the other side of the door looked startled when Angel pulled the door open. "Can I help you?" Angel asked neutrally.

"Um, hi. I'm Ben. I'm a nurse at Sunnydale Regional. I just wanted to drop these off for Mrs. Summers." He lifted a bouquet of wildflowers as proof.

Angel took them, his expression unchanged. "I'll make sure she gets them," he said. As he swung the door closed, Angel didn't notice Ben shaking uncontrollably. By the time the door clicked shut, Glory stood on the Summers' front porch, glaring at the door.

"Why am I here?" she muttered to herself. "Oh, yeah, because Ben is a weak little sap. Ugh! I hate this!" She stomped off toward the car, slamming the door hard enough to dent the frame.

"Was that Ben?" Joyce asked when Angel left the entryway.

"Yeah," he replied. "He brought you flowers."

"How sweet." Joyce took them and then stared at Angel accusingly. "Why did you yell at my daughter?"

"Because Buffy called. Doyle had a vision. I couldn't let Ben see Dawn," Angel explained, not backing down.

"And Doyle's vision was what, exactly?" Joyce demanded.

"I don't know, but I trust Doyle. His visions have never been wrong." He picked up the phone and dialed the Magic Box. "Buffy? It's Angel. It was Ben. No, he didn't see Dawn, but I think she's going to hate me for the rest of her life. Is Doyle okay? Care to fill me in on the details?"

Angel listened for a long moment, and then his brow furrowed. "What do you mean, Ben is Glory?"

*****

"And Spike just…volunteered?" Giles asked again, whipping off his glasses and fishing out a handkerchief.

"As freaky as it sounds, it's true," Buffy said. "I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't been there."

"How close are you to completing the spell?" Angel asked Willow.

"A couple of days," Willow replied. "It would go faster if we had more help, but since it's just Cordy and me," Willow shrugged.

Buffy suddenly straightened. "Onn!" she exclaimed.

"On?" Cordelia repeated. "On what? What's on?"

"No, Onn. The Horanat demon Dawn and I met last month," Buffy explained. "Giles said they were into magic, right? Maybe he could help."

"Horanat demons are peaceful," Giles said. "I highly doubt he would help with an obliteration spell."

"Well, Glory wants to open a portal and destroy the universe as we know it," Buffy said dryly. "Maybe just this once he'll bend his principles."

Oz took a deep breath as if he was going to say something and winced instead. "Okay, breathing not a good idea," he said weakly. Willow turned to him solicitously and touched his side. Her hand glowed briefly and the pained expression melted off his face.

"Feel better?" she asked.

Oz kissed the tip of her nose. "Much. Thanks."

"Okay, say the lovely ladies finish this obliteration spell," Doyle spoke up. After several chasing several Advil tablets down with some of Giles' good brandy, he had managed to get his brain back in a semi-working order. "Then what do we do?"

"We find Glory's hideout, create a diversion, and send Spike in," Buffy said decisively. She looked down at her feet and gasped. "No! Caddie, get back here!" She scuttled away from the table and caught the baby just as she reached for a jar of incense sticks on the lowest shelf.

"As always, a very succinct plan," Oz noted. "I like it."

"It does have the benefit of simplicity," Giles agreed. "Very well. Ah, Buffy, it would probably best not to leave Cadence unsupervised now that she's crawling."

"Four-month-olds should not be this mobile," Buffy grumbled, handing the Caddie to Angel. "I'm not convinced she gets that from me."

Doyle got to his feet. "Angel, there's something in the new shipment I want you to see," he said, nodding his head toward the back room. "It'll just be a minute."

"Sure," Angel said, beginning to follow. As soon as they were alone, he grew serious. "What is it, Doyle?"

The shorter man rubbed his furrowed brow. "You know, I debated for a long while if I should even say anything, but I feel I have to, mate."

"Still waiting," Angel reminded him.

"You remember that vision I had several weeks ago, the one I wouldn't talk about?"

Angel frowned, vaguely recalling the one in question. "Yeah. Why?"

Doyle shuffled his feet, rubbed the back of his neck and dropped his gaze. "Well, I saw you. And Dawn. And…you were in a cemetery." He said the last in a rush. "I couldn't see much else but you were both pretty cut up. It was bad."

Angel felt the blood drain from his face. "Buffy," he whispered. "The Oracles. Th-they said if I stayed human, one of us would die early." Caddie fretted in his arms and tucked her head under his chin. Angel patted her back soothingly. "You're sure?" he asked Doyle hollowly.

Doyle looked miserable. "I'm sure," he said.

Angel looked down at his daughter. Her dark hair was just long enough to curl at the ends, and her eyes had darkened to chocolate brown, like his own. But otherwise she was pure Buffy. Then he looked up at Doyle.

"Don't tell anyone else," he said softly. "They don't need to know."

"I'm sorry, Angel," Doyle said hesitantly.

Angel pressed a kiss to the top of his daughter's head. "Yeah. Me, too."


	17. Chapter 16

He had been watching her when he thought she wasn't looking. He was in full brood-mode, too, his eyes dark with emotion. After Caddie had finally fallen asleep, Buffy had had enough.

"What is it?" she demanded, putting her hands on her hips. "What is wrong with you now?"

"What?" Angel frowned at her. "I'm fine."

"No you're not. You've been staring at me all day."

"Because you're beautiful," he tried to tease, but it fell flat. "You don't let me have any secrets, do you?" he asked plaintively. She walked over and put her hands on his chest.

"No secrets, remember? Now tell me what's been bothering you."

He didn't meet her gaze at first. "I'm…nervous," he finally admitted. "About Glory."

"Oh." Buffy blinked in surprise. "Well, why didn't you just say so?"

"Because I didn't want you to know," Angel said with a sigh. "I didn't want you to be afraid."

"Angel, I'm more frightened then I've ever been in my life," she told him honestly. "We're going up against a freakin' _god_! If you _weren't_ nervous, I'd seriously doubt your sanity." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him.

Angel surprised both of them by wrapping his arms around her and crushing his mouth against hers. He desperately wanted to touch her, to _feel_ her, to assure himself she was alive and real. Doyle's visions may always be true, but Angel sure as hell wasn't going to stand by and do nothing.

*****

They hadn't even planned on having the meeting, but everyone was there, arriving at the Magic Box in pairs and quietly sitting down around the research table. Spike was the last to arrive, slipping in through the back just as the sun set. He and Angel exchanged unreadable looks, but Angel simply nodded and Spike nodded back.

"We found it." Doyle was the first to speak. "It took all night and about half a dozen demon bars, but we found it." He and Spike had gone out in search of Glory's hideout the night before, as they were the only two who could pass for anything other than human.

"She's in that old apartment building, the Heights," Spike added. "Place was empty for years and then people started showing up. And not the human kind of people." He shrugged, rolling an unlit cigarette in his fingers. "A question there, a drink here, and Bob's your uncle."

"We finished the spell," Willow said. Her face was pale but her voice was admirably steady. "Cordy?"

Cordelia looked far more nervous as she reached into the bag she carried and pulled out the Josephus globe. It now appeared to be filled with roiling, green-black clouds. "You break it to release the power," she said, putting it onto the table. Everyone stared at it for a long time.

"So…tomorrow night?" Buffy suggested.

Giles took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "Well, there's no point in delaying now that everything's ready," he said. "Yes. We'll meet here tomorrow night at sundown."

"Actually," Buffy said, glancing sidelong at Angel. "There's something I kind of wanted to do first."

*****

John usually didn't do this sort of thing on such a short notice, but Joyce Summers was a good friend of his, and he was willing to do her a favor. He straightened his robe as he prepared to enter the chamber. He sincerely hoped they knew what they were getting themselves into.

All eyes turned to him as he pushed through the door. He immediately found Joyce, who had her arms full of an infant that couldn't be older than six months old. Standing next to Joyce was a teenaged girl that could only be Dawn. Also gathered in the room were three young women: a blonde, a redhead, and a brunette, four young men: two short, two tall, and a bespectacled gentleman who had gray encroaching on his dark, thick hair.

"Good evening," John said with a smile. "I'm Justice of the Peace Judge John Clayton."

The blonde young woman stepped forward to shake his hand. "Hi. I'm Buffy Summers, and this is Angel." As John shook Angel's hand, he searched the man's face and was slightly disturbed by what he saw. Grim determination and ancient eyes dark with pain.

The rest of the group was introduced swiftly with one name each. Giles, Cordelia, Doyle, Oz, Willow, Spike, and the infant was Caddie. John noticed with a little trepidation that all of them—barring the infant—wore grave expressions. Willow, the redhead, looked downright frightened. It wasn't what one expected on this sort of occasion. But John had said he would do it, so he soldiered on.

"Do you have the certificate?" he asked. Buffy turned to look at Giles, who started, blinked a few times, and handed over the manila envelope that had been tucked under his arm.

"Very well," John continued. "Will Buffy Summers and Angel Summers please step forward." The group shifted so that Buffy and Angel stood in front of the judge, the others in a half-circle around them. John took a deep breath and began the ceremony.

"We are gathered to unite the two of you in marriage, which is an institution ordained by the state and made honorable by the faithful keeping of good men and women throughout all ages, and is not to be entered into lightly or unadvisedly." So saying, he turned first to Angel. "Do you, Angel, take Buffy to be your wife, to love, comfort, and cherish from this day forth?"

In the expectant silence, Angel whispered the reply, "I do."

John turned next to Buffy. "Do you, Buffy, take Angel to be your husband, to love, comfort, and cherish from this day forth?"

Tears sprang into Buffy's hazel-green eyes, and she had to clear her throat in order to say, "Yes, I do."

"Do you have the rings?" John asked.

Angel and Buffy nodded, showing a matching pair of silver Claddaughs. At John's prompt, Angel took Buffy's left hand and slipped the band onto her ring finger. "By the power that Christ brought from heaven, may you love me. As the sun follows its course, may you follow me. May your presence be with me 'til death comes to part us," he recited, and then kissed the ring.

Buffy was crying, now, and almost dropped the ring as she tried to slip it onto Angel's finger, but he caught it and handed it back. When she finally got it into place, she looked up and met his gaze. "Forever. That's the whole point."

"Having thus pledged yourselves each to the other, I do now, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the state of California, pronounce you husband and wife." John smiled and added, "You may now kiss the bride."

Angel took both of Buffy's hands and for a long moment simply looked at her. And the love that John saw in his eyes dispelled all of his misgivings. No matter how unusual the circumstances, this was a marriage of true love.

Then Angel pulled his wife close and kissed her lingeringly. Doyle gave a whoop of joy and the others clapped, smiles wreathing their faces for the first time. They converged on the couple, hugging and wiping tears and slapping backs. Except for Spike. He stood aloof from the others, watching with an odd mixture of contempt and wistfulness.

"Okay," Buffy finally said. "Are we ready to go?"

"One more thing," Angel said, and turned to the flame-haired man beside him. "Oz?"

Oz suddenly got a deer-in-the-headlights look about him, which passed after a moment. He took a deep breath and singled Willow out of the group. "Willow, I had this crazy idea," he said softly. "You want to hear it?"

Willow peered at him in confusion, but nodded anyway. "Sure. What is it, Oz?"

"You and me," Oz said with a faint smile. "Always." He held up a simple diamond solitaire ring. "What do you think?"

Willow stared at her boyfriend for a heartbeat, and then gave an ear-piercing shriek of joy before throwing her arms around his neck. There was another round of mutual congratulation and happy tears. Then the group split into two, Joyce, Dawn, Cordelia on one side, and the others heading toward the door. Suddenly Doyle stopped, spun around, and ran back to kiss Cordelia soundly on the mouth.

"Be safe," she said. "Because if you die, I swear I'll hate you forever."

"I'll do my best," he promised, and hurried to catch up with the others.

After everyone had gone, Judge Clayton noticed the old, canvas blanket crumpled in one corner of the courtroom. He picked it up curiously and a strange, singed smell rose from the thick folds.


	18. Chapter 17

Seven people stood in a line along the sidewalk, staring at the once-empty apartment complex across the street. "Not exactly the honeymoon destination I had in mind," Buffy said dryly, her hand clasped tight in her husband's.

"I'll make up for it," Angel promised. They lapsed into silence again.

"So…" This time it was Doyle. "What's the blast radius for that spell?"

Willow had to be elbowed by Oz before she could answer. "Uh, about fifty feet."

Spike cocked his head. "Well, my guess is she's got the penthouse, which is fifteen stories up, so you should be safe on the bottom seven or so."

"How are you going to get up there?" Giles asked.

The vampire shrugged. "I've got ways."

"I wish Xander were here," Willow said with a sigh. Oz put his arm around her sympathetically.

"Okay," Buffy said, hefting her battle-axe. "Let's get this done."

They didn't bother with subtlety. There was a cheap chain link fence surrounding the building, but that came down in seconds. The first demon who saw them managed to get out a yelp of warning before falling to Angel's blade.

They were soon fully engaged in battle against several types of demons, all of which were big, strong, and hard to kill. Giles, Angel, and Buffy wielded their weapons of choice with the comfort of long practice. Doyle had chosen a one-handed mace, saying that anything else would likely get himself killed. He stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Willow in full Brachan glory, bashing anyone who came too close to the redheaded witch.

Buffy held her ground as she whirled her axe over her head. Their job was to give Spike a big enough distraction in order for him to set off the spell, nothing more. All they had to do was last. She ducked under the swipe of an unfamiliar demon and kicked out, catching it square in the chest. It flew backwards and Oz pounced, dragging his claws across its throat. While partial-wolf Oz was indescribably cool, there was something disturbing about the bloodlust in those gleaming, gold eyes.

Angel brought his sword up to parry a metal pipe, the impact ringing down the blade and numbing his hand. With a hiss of pain, Angel shoved forward, knocking his foe off-balance long enough to drive his sword through its stomach. He glanced towards the building, searching for any sign of Spike.

There—a figure in a black coat was on the old-fashioned fire escape, climbing nimbly up the side of the building. Spike paused by a window and then disappeared into the building. It couldn't be much longer.

*****

There were no lights in the room where Spike stood, but that posed no problem to the vampire. He took a moment to gain a sense of his surroundings. Through the window, he could hear the ruckus the others had raised to give him this chance. He reached into his pocket and fingered the smooth surface of the globe.

Why?

The question came out of the blue and startled him. He had to stop and think about it. Why had he volunteered to do this? What did he care if some banished hell-god wanted to get her hands on the Slayer's kid sister?

But there was the rub: he _did_ care. He cared a lot. For a second he could see Dawn, suspended on a metal walkway, sobbing with fear as blood trickled down her side and he was falling away, unable to protect her…

Spike shook himself savagely. That hadn't happened. And it _wouldn't_ happen. He squared his shoulders and headed for the door. "Let's see if a god can be killed," he muttered.

*****

"I can't believe I agreed to let them do this," Joyce muttered, pacing in her living room. Cordelia looked up from feeding Caddie.

"I doubt there was a damn thing you could to stop them. I mean, this is Buffy we're talking about."

"She is just entirely too young," Joyce continued. "She's not prepared for this responsibility."

"Well, Spike's the one actually setting off the spell," Cordelia reminded the older woman. Joyce stopped in her tracks and stared at Cordy. "What?"

"I was talking about Buffy getting married," Joyce said with a blank expression. "What are you talking about?"

Cordelia giggled, caught herself, and then laughed out loud. "Oh my God," she said, still chuckling. "Buffy and Doyle and the others are in the fight of their lives and you—you're still wigging over the wedding!"

"Fight of their lives?" Joyce asked, suddenly apprehensive. "Do you think it's really that bad?"

Cordelia sobered. "I don't know. I guess. I mean, they've never gone up against a god before. That's kind of serious." She tilted her head. "Dawn's been pretty quiet. Is that normal?"

"She's still a little in shock after finding out about being the Key and all that," Joyce said. "I've tried to get her to come out of her room, but she'll barely speak to me."

"Understandable, I suppose," Cordelia said with a frown. "You know how teenagers can be nowadays." Caddie, resenting Cordelia's lack of focus, reached up and grabbed the bottle with her tiny hands, sucking furiously as formula dribbled down her chin. "Oh, goodness!" Cordy said proudly. "Look at you! Growing up so fast."

*****

There was a lot of magical energy in this place. Willow could feel it swirling around her, just out of her reach as she summoned spell after spell to help her friends. The world looked strange through her clouded eyes, shapes stretching and colors achingly bright. The tiny spark that was the Josephus globe shone off in the distance, moving slowly as Spike made his way towards his goal.

Around her, weapons clashed and blood sprayed, most of it demon. Angel cried out when a demon's knife sliced his bicep, but he gritted his teeth and raised his sword for another blow.

Buffy's nose and lips were coated in blood from a backhanded blow, but the demon responsible lay in two pieces in the churned earth, which was rapidly becoming bloody mud. Giles fought like a dancer, combining grace and power as he cut his own swathe through the enemy. Oz's fur was slick with blood, but he never stayed still long enough for Willow to see if it was his own. Doyle had never left Willow's side, rewarding each demon that tried to attack her with a split skull.

Then something else appeared on the edge of Willow's vision, a magical energy that burned as bright as the sun. She gasped as it approached; she wanted to reach out and tap into it, suck it dry to fuel her dwindling stores. But something stopped her.

_It didn't belong here._

The feel of the magic was strange, out of sync with the rhythm of this universe. Willow blinked, trying to bring the source of the power into focus. When she finally did, she gasped in recognition.


	19. Chapter 18

"No! Dawn, get out of here!"

At Willow's desperate shout, Buffy stumbled, nearly missing her strike. She whirled around, searching for her younger sister. To her horror, Dawn stood by the remains of the fence, staring at the battle. Muttering a curse under her breath, Buffy dodged through the seething bodies and grabbed her sister's arm, not caring that she smeared blood onto Dawn's shirt.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Buffy demanded. "You were supposed to stay home! It's not safe here, Dawn!"

"I couldn't let you die for me," Dawn said, tears in her eyes. "I'm not worth that."

"No one is going to die, Dawn," Buffy snarled, shoving her sister away. "Now get out of here before someone notices you."

"Oh, too late for that!"

Buffy spun around, bring her axe up. Glory stood a few steps away, resplendent in a floor-length gown of navy blue. "Dawn, run!" Buffy yelled, but the girl was rooted to the spot.

"Why so protective, Buffy?" Glory mocked. "Maybe because Dawnie here is important? Like maybe she's…the Key?"

Buffy lunged toward Glory, her axe singing through the air. Glory's expression was contemptuous as she batted Buffy aside. The Slayer hit the ground hard in a crumpled heap, the axe blade buried in her thigh.

"Buffy!" Dawn screamed, moving toward her sister. Glory flashed to Dawn's side and grabbed her arm.

"First things first, little Dawnie," Glory said in a singsong, and slapped Dawn across the face. Dawn cried out and lifted her hand to her bleeding lip. Glory brushed Dawn's hand aside, dabbed some of the girl's blood on her finger, and licked it off. Her eyes lit up in triumph.

"Well, well, well. Look who the monks made human." She began to drag Dawn towards the building. "I've already got everything ready to go, little Key. So all you have to do is bleed."

*****

Cordelia's breathe rasped in her throat as she ran. She had never pushed herself this hard, this fast before, but she had no choice. She had to find Dawn before it was too late. She cursed herself furiously. She should have known the girl would run off!

She smelled the battlefield first. The pungent, overpowering smell of blood coated the inside of her mouth and the back of her throat, but she ignored it, plunging past the fence and skidding to a halt at the sight before her.

Demons of all shapes and sizes were scattered over the parking lot, the asphalt slick with blood. In the middle of the carnage were six figures, limp with defeat. Giles lay on his side, glasses askew, the blood from his head wound already beginning to dry. Doyle sat beside him, one leg out at an awkward angle. Oz was in full-wolf mode, his fur spiky with blood. He stood over a pale and unconscious Willow, snarling at anything that moved. Angel crouched beside Buffy, holding a wad of fabric that had once been his shirt to a ragged gash in her thigh. His breath came in gasps, his lips moving as he pleaded soundlessly with his wife.

Cordelia dropped to her knees beside Doyle, one hand on his shoulder and the other glowing with power as she placed it lightly against his broken leg. "What happened?" she demanded.

"Glory," Doyle gasped, his face contorting in pain. "She has Dawn."

Cordelia's heart splashed into her stomach. She looked around swiftly and noticed someone was missing. "Where's Spike?"

"Dunno. He went off before the battle started." Doyle reached up and grabbed Cordelia's arm. "You have to get Dawn out of there, Cordy," he said fiercely. "You can't let that hell-bitch hurt her."

"I won't," Cordelia promised. She hesitated for a long moment, and then kissed Doyle swiftly. "I'll be right back." Then she got to her feet.

"Cordy!" She looked back over her shoulder at Doyle. His blue eyes were wide with pain and something else—was it fear? "I love you," he said softly.

She smiled at him tightly. "Thanks." Then she sprinted toward the building, refusing to think of the consequences, not stopping to worry, just driven by the need to _stop Glory now!_

By the time Cordy reached the fifteenth floor, she had forgotten that she was supposed to be tired, forgotten that she was no match for Glory. She simply burst into the penthouse suite and lifted her hand. "_Offendo per incendia_!" she yelled.

A fireball shot from her hand and struck Glory square in the chest, driving the god back into the wall. Glory morphed into Ben before crumpling to the ground, but Cordy didn't notice. The two large and angry-looking demons standing between her and Dawn concerned her more.

The window shattered and Spike landed on his feet, already swinging the metal pipe in his hands. It connected with the first demon's head with a grisly crunch. He spun around, driving his weapon first into the remaining demon's stomach before bringing it down on the creature's head with all his strength.

Splattered with gore, the vampire looked over at Cordelia. "Get her out of here," he ordered, pointing at Dawn. The teenager leapt to her feet.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she sobbed. "I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt."

Cordelia grabbed Dawn's hand. "What about you?" she asked Spike.

He gestured toward Ben's still form. "I'm going to finish this."

Cordelia nodded and headed for the door, dragging Dawn along with her. Spike pulled the Josephus globe out of his pocket and walked over to Ben, waiting for the girls to get out of range. If it weren't for the damned chip, he'd just snap the bugger's neck and be done with it.

Ben groaned and rolled over, only it wasn't Ben anymore, it was Glory. She scrambled to her feet as Spike backed away, cursing under his breath. Glory looked around, her expression twisting in fury.

"You!" she screamed, stabbing a finger at Spike. "You took my Key! Why can't you people mind your own business!" With a shriek of rage, she grabbed Spike by the front of his coat and flung him across the room. He landed hard enough to crack the floor, the Josephus globe slipping from his hand.

He scrabbled for the glass sphere, but Glory was atop him before he could recover it. She slammed her fist into his jaw, fracturing the bone. "All I want is to go home!" she yelled in his face. "I just want to leave this pathetic universe!" She punched Spike again and he cried out in pain as broken bones ground together.

"Why are you being so selfish?" Glory demanded, kicking him in the side. Ribs crunched and Spike slid across the floor, smashing against the wall. He coughed and spat up blood, fumbling to try to get up. His hand encountered something smooth, cold, and round. He hoped desperately that Dawn and the others were out of range.

He lifted the Josephus globe and smashed it against the floor with all his might, shattering it into a thousand pieces.

*****

Cordelia and Dawn had just reached the outside door when the shockwave hit. The world exploded into blinding green light as the ground shook under their feet, sending both girls sprawling onto the ground. Cordelia covered Dawn's body with her own and prayed for the building to stay standing.

After an impossibly long minute, the tremors ceased and the light faded. Cordelia lifted her head cautiously and looked around. "He did it," she muttered to herself. "Spike did it."

She scrambled to her feet and hauled Dawn up, too. "Check on the others and see if they can move," she ordered. "We need to get them to the hospital as soon as possible. Call your mother. She can pick us up or something."

"Where are you going?" Dawn asked. Cordelia was already halfway into the building.

"I'm going to make sure the spell worked," she called back.

The top five floors were in shambles. It was as if a bomb had gone off. Actually, a bomb_ had_ gone off, Cordelia thought with a grimace. She poked her head cautiously into the penthouse suite and looked for any sign of movement. Then she carefully stepped in, picking her way though the wreckage. Something crunched underfoot and she looked down. She was standing amidst glass shards, fragments of the container that held the obliteration spell. Something glinted in the mess, and Cordelia stooped to pick it up.

It was no bigger than her thumbnail, smooth metal on one side and a computer chip on the other. She stared at it for a long moment before it slipped from her nerveless fingers.

"He knew," she whispered. "He must have known he wouldn't survive."


	20. Epilogue

Cordelia dodged the questions of the doctors, telling them that they had been attacked by a biker gang. It was the only thing her over-stressed mind could come up with. Buffy was taken back for surgery and Doyle had to have his leg set while the others were being patched up.

"C-cordy, I c-can't reach my mom," Dawn said, burying her face against Cordelia's shoulder. Cordy wrapped her arms around the shaking teenager and stroked her hair.

"I'm sure everything's fine, honey," she said soothingly. "We'll go over in a few minutes and check on her, okay?"

"Okay," Dawn said, wiping her tears away. Cordelia gave her a watery smile, desperately trying to hold herself together now that she was supposed to be the strong one. They hadn't even let her speak to Doyle before they whisked him off. She had wanted to hold his hand, to take away his pain. And there was that thing where he loved her. It had caught her off-guard when he said it, and she hadn't known how to reply. Well, she knew now.

"Ms. Chase?"

She spun around at the sound of her name to see a doctor standing there. "Yes?"

"Has any family been contacted yet?" the doctor asked.

"Family?" Cordelia echoed, a little stunned. "Mister, we _are_ family. We don't have anyone else."

"Are you authorized to make decisions, then?" he pressed.

They had already taken care of this, thanks to Giles' foresight. "Yes, I am. You do whatever it takes to keep them alive," she instructed. She looked over at Dawn. "There's somewhere I have to be, but I'll be back in an hour or so. Is there anything I need to sign?"

After scribbling her signature onto half a dozen forms, Cordelia took Dawn's hand and they started walking towards the Summers' house. Cordelia opened the front door and let Dawn in first.

"Mom?" Dawn called. "Mom, we're back!"

There was no reply. Cordelia frowned and headed into the kitchen. "Mrs. Summers?" she called. "Hello?" She heard Caddie just begin to cry and made it halfway up the stairs before Dawn screamed.

Joyce was lying on the couch, arms and legs splayed awkwardly as her unseeing eyes stared blankly towards the ceiling.

*****

It was a gray afternoon, the California sun shrouded by heavy clouds. The grass in the cemetery was wet and matted under their feet as they stood by the open grave. The minister had already spoken; the mourners had placed roses on the casket. Now it was just the family, standing in an uneven line.

All of them had tears in their eyes; they had been crying for days. Cordelia was still in shock. Doyle stood with the help of a pair of crutches, his fingers interlaced with his girlfriend's. Oz had both arms around Willow, who was still pale and tended to sway if she stood for too long. Angel held Caddie in his arms; the infant was unusually subdued.

Buffy knelt by the casket, uncaring that her pants were becoming soaked. She couldn't speak through a throat raw from tears that continued to stream down her face. _It wasn't supposed to be like this_, her mind screamed. _We won! We were supposed to be okay!_

Dawn stood apart from the others, still locked in the frozen state she had been in ever since finding her mother's body. The news that Spike was dead hadn't helped at all. She stared at the casket, her arms wrapped tightly around herself.

Angel broke away from the others to stand beside his sister-in-law, placing his free arm around her shoulders. Doyle glanced over at them involuntarily and was struck by a strong sense of déjà vu.

It was his vision. Angel and Dawn in the cemetery, mourning as their hearts broke. Only it wasn't for the one he had thought. Doyle warred with feelings of relief and intense shame at that relief. He sighed and dropped his head. Whatever happened to happy endings?


End file.
